Srinagar: Expressing her gratitude to the people of South Kashmir for having reposed their trust once again in her party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president, Mehbooba Mufti Tuesdaysaid the fact that common masses are identifying themselves with the victory of the PDP candidates in the Lok Sabha elections highlights the zooming index of hope in the state.
According to a statement issued to KNS, she was addressing a large public meeting at Anantnag today organized by the party to felicitate her on election to the Lok Sabha. Senior party leaders Abdul Rehman Veeri MLA, Sofi Ab Gaffar MLA, Peerzada Mansoor Hussain MLA, Rafi Ahmad Mir MLA, zone presidents Syed Farooq Andrabi, Adv Sheikh Javed , Ab Rahim Rather and others were also present on this occasion.
Mehbooba said the general mood of celebration in Kashmir over the victory of the PDP in all the three parliamentary seats reflects the fact that the hope generated by the arrival of PDP in 2002 has been rekindled with this emphatic endorsement of party’s agenda. She said this election has also restored the sanctity of electoral process in the state and it would help in finally removing the impression that the representatives from Kashmir are elected by someone other than the people of this place. “We will go into the parliament with the confidence and mandate of our people to speak with authority about the problems facing the state and will seek their resolution by involving public opinion both in and outside the house,” said Mehbooba.
She said this election had clearly established that political accountability had taken roots in the state. She said the complete rout of the ruling coalition could not have been avoided in any free and fair exercise of vote as this government had violated all established norms of governance, integrity, fairness and justice. “It is a matter of satisfaction that PDP is now in a position to provide a better alternative and people have extended their approval to our party’s program and want us to carry forward the process of reconciliation and reconstruction started in 2002 but blocked by the present government” Mehbooba said.
“By giving a clear verdict against the government the people have established that they are the masters and they would conduct the audit of all political parties and vote only for those who have a fair record of performance, progressive agenda and a credible leadership,” she said.
The PDP president said though it was initially with the support of the people of South Kashmir that the PDP had been able to make a difference to the state politics, but now this party has emerged as a credible force in real sense. She said the party leadership has tried to establish it as an inclusive forum for all the regions, communities and ethnicities to combine their energies for the welfare of the state and resolving its political problems. “Our strength is in connecting the diverse features of the state and its people and converging their aspirations and energies along creative channels,” she said and added for South Kashmir the projects and programs of development that had been started by the PDP led coalition would be revived in right earnest by in right earnest by the next government.
Mehbooba said while her party would have to grapple with immense problems facing the state on all fronts, she was particularly concerned about the unemployment of youth. She said the energies of our young population are getting wasted as a result of wrong policies adopted so far and the PDP would seriously work for creating the right environment for the youth to harness their energies and improve their capacities to be able to contribute to their own welfare and that of the state.