NC, PDP: N-deal is not anti-Muslim
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Srinagar July 09: Both the National Conference (NC) and its arch rival People’s Democratic Party —who were competing to outsmart each other on the land transfer issue and voted to oust a Congress-led J-K government — have not let communal divisions come in the way of their support of the UPA Government’s n-deal.
NC president and MLA Omar Abdullah asserted that it is wrong to look at the nuke deal as a Muslim issue. “We don’t consider it against Muslims. This deal is either good or bad for the country. Where does the issue of Muslims come here,” he questioned, adding, “our options are open. At the same time, we do not rule out supporting the deal.”
Speaking for the NC, which has two votes in the Parliament, Omar asserted that any electricity generated as a result of the deal will not exclude a particular religion nor will any jobs created as a result of the agreement be used to benefit only a particular community.
PDP President Mehbooba Mufti, who is the lone member of the party in the Parliament, shared similar views. “We will go along with the Congress on the nuclear deal. There are no two opinions about this,” she stated, claiming that the PDP had no animosity with the Congress. “Our differences are with the attitude of Ghulam Nabi Azad. We share good rapport with Congress high command,” she says. Mufti also says that her party doesn’t consider the nuke deal to be anti-Muslim.
The separatists, meanwhile, are silent on this issue. Apart from Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani — he, incidentally, has not made any comments against the Indo-US deal — the separatist leadership is wary of making anti-US statements. JKLF chief Yasin Malik didn’t want to comment while Mirwaiz Umar Farooq laughed: “Our agenda is strictly resolution of the Kashmir dispute. And our politics is geared to achieve that goal only,” he told The Indian Express. It is worth noting that the United States has been traditionally involved in the efforts to resolve the problem here, so the verbal restraint probably has more to do with Washington than New Delhi. Nonetheless, the Kashmir Valley witnessed big protests against the United States after the Iraq invasion and, in fact, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq too had lead anti-America protests.
NC president and MLA Omar Abdullah asserted that it is wrong to look at the nuke deal as a Muslim issue. “We don’t consider it against Muslims. This deal is either good or bad for the country. Where does the issue of Muslims come here,” he questioned, adding, “our options are open. At the same time, we do not rule out supporting the deal.”
Speaking for the NC, which has two votes in the Parliament, Omar asserted that any electricity generated as a result of the deal will not exclude a particular religion nor will any jobs created as a result of the agreement be used to benefit only a particular community.
PDP President Mehbooba Mufti, who is the lone member of the party in the Parliament, shared similar views. “We will go along with the Congress on the nuclear deal. There are no two opinions about this,” she stated, claiming that the PDP had no animosity with the Congress. “Our differences are with the attitude of Ghulam Nabi Azad. We share good rapport with Congress high command,” she says. Mufti also says that her party doesn’t consider the nuke deal to be anti-Muslim.
The separatists, meanwhile, are silent on this issue. Apart from Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani — he, incidentally, has not made any comments against the Indo-US deal — the separatist leadership is wary of making anti-US statements. JKLF chief Yasin Malik didn’t want to comment while Mirwaiz Umar Farooq laughed: “Our agenda is strictly resolution of the Kashmir dispute. And our politics is geared to achieve that goal only,” he told The Indian Express. It is worth noting that the United States has been traditionally involved in the efforts to resolve the problem here, so the verbal restraint probably has more to do with Washington than New Delhi. Nonetheless, the Kashmir Valley witnessed big protests against the United States after the Iraq invasion and, in fact, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq too had lead anti-America protests.
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