Sopore, Jun 04 (KNO): Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Sopore Irshad Rasool Kar on Thursday said the struggle of the National Conference (NC) goes beyond the restoration of statehood and is focused on reclaiming the constitutional rights that were "taken away" from the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Kar made the remarks a day after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah chaired a marathon meeting of NC MLAs and MPs at Dachigam that lasted for more than seven hours. The meeting reviewed the performance of the 19-month-old government and discussed governance, public issues and the party's future political course.
The MLA, as reported by the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said every issue concerning Jammu and Kashmir was discussed in detail during the deliberations. "Everything was discussed minutely during the meeting," he said.
Referring to the National Conference's proposed protest march to New Delhi during the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament, he said the initiative should not be seen merely as a campaign for the restoration of statehood.
“It is not only statehood that matters. Statehood is a right, and it is meant for running a government in a state. But the Delhi Chalo protest march is for the fight for the constitutional rights that have been snatched from us,” he said.
The Sopore legislator said statehood primarily relates to administrative powers, while the larger political objective remains the restoration of rights and safeguards that Jammu and Kashmir previously enjoyed.
“Statehood is only in between and for administrative power. The main fight is for the rights that have been snatched,” Kar asserted—(KNO)