Kashmir News: No one can suppress our voice, be it Modi or Shah, says Engineer Rashid during election campaign | Mint

Chanting slogans of ‘Chief Minister, Chief Minister Engineer, Ghar-Ghar Engineer’, groups of enthusiastic youths jostled with each other to get a glimpse of MP Sheikh Abdul Rashid, also known as Engineer Rashid, when he arrived in his home constituency Baramulla in north Kashmir on Thursday morning.

Rashid, who was released on interim bail from Delhi’s Tihar jail on Wednesday after five-and-a-half years, was overwhelmed as he landed at the Srinagar airport and kissed the soil of Kashmir while prostrating on the road.

He said, “My people, do not lose heart. Truth is on our side. No one can suppress our voice, be it (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi or (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah. We do not beg. We want to be treated like human beings. We only want a solution to the Jammu and Kashmir issue. The first thing is that our rights, self-respect and freedom should be protected.”

Candidates will withdraw if Indian Bloc promises Article 370

Rashid later said that if the opposition party India Block gives an assurance that they will restore Article 370 once their government comes to power, they will withdraw all their candidates. “Even till the polling day, if India Block gives us assurances about Article 370, I will ask my voters to vote for India Alliance candidates and withdraw our candidates,” he said.

Voting in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in three phases – September 18, September 25 and October 1. Counting of votes will take place on October 8.

Less crowd than expected

Rashid then left for Baramulla, where he addressed hundreds of supporters who had gathered from various parts of the valley to hear him. At the cricket ground in Delina, it was a festive atmosphere with young, enthusiastic supporters waving flags of his party, the Awami Ittehad Party, and his photographs.

The AIP is contesting 35 seats in Kashmir and this was the first major event after the MP’s release, but the crowd was much less than expected, especially after Rashid had defeated National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah from the Baramulla seat in the parliamentary elections by securing over five lakh votes.

Rashid was arrested in 2019 in a terror funding case and was granted bail till October 2 to campaign for the assembly elections. He expressed gratitude to the people of North Kashmir for voting for him despite being in jail.

He attacked Omar Abdullah and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, saying they were representatives of the BJP. He also attacked Prime Minister Modi’s ‘Naya Kashmir’ slogan. “I want to tell Narendra Modi that his Naya Kashmir slogan has flopped. Today, it is the Kashmir of atrocities, killings and torture,” he said while the crowd cheered.

‘Vote for commitment’

Accompanied by half a dozen candidates of his party, Rashid said: “Narendra Modi ji, Amit Shah ji, Rahul Gandhi or other leaders of India must have realised with whom the people of Kashmir stand. They have also realised that the real issue of Kashmir cannot be suppressed by putting Engineer Rashid, Hurriyat leaders, Kashmiri youth and legitimate leaders of the valley in Tihar.”

Rashid said that the Prime Minister should understand that the votes he has received are not due to emotion but due to commitment.

The gathering raised slogans of “Tihar ka badla vote se, zulm ka badla vote se, UAPA ka badla vote se (Revenge of Tihar, atrocities and UAPA through votes).”

joined the Jamaat

Rashid claimed that the election results are not important for him. He said, “Election is not important for me, but the solution of Kashmir issue is very important.” He said that the banned Jamaat-e-Islami has made many sacrifices.

He said, “They (Jamaat) have made many contributions and sacrifices but first I have to talk to them and their leaders about the interests of Jammu and Kashmir.”

Rashid ruled out any alliance with the BJP. “Omar Abdullah says I will be jailed after October 2. I want to ask him why he will put me in Tihar again if according to him I am working for the BJP,” he said. He predicted that the elections will bring about a big change in Jammu and Kashmir.

Seeking support from the people to strengthen his hands, he said, “If Omar Abdullah comes with me to Tihar Jail on the day I am taken back, I promise we will withdraw the candidates against him from Ganderbal and Budgam.”

(This story was first published in 2008) Hindustan Times,