NC Responsible For Imposing Gun Culture Across Jammu Kashmir: Altaf Bukhari

Apni Party president Syed Altaf Bukhari on Thursday blamed the National Conference for “imposing gun culture across the Jammu and Kashmir by rigging 1987 elections.”

While addressing a mammoth rally here, Bukhari also exhorted the people of Jammu and Kashmir to reject those political parties, which, he alleged, “had been playing with their sentiments for the last 72 years.”

He alleged that NC was responsible for drifting people’s belief in Indian democracy and later started playing with their sentiments by false sloganeering on the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

“By rigging 1987 elections, youths were forced to pick up guns,” said Bukhari. He said, “Had NC not played with the sentiments of people of Jammu and Kashmir, the area could not have been pushed into deep turmoil.”

“The gun culture has brought miseries and resulted in the loss of around one and half lakh youth. The fact is that guns brought destruction and nothing else,” he said and urged people to differentiate between their true representative and foe.

Showing his displeasure over the state of the apple industry, the Apni Party president said that despite being an apple rich area, the fruit growers of north Kashmir did not yield the maximum dividends which they deserved.

He announced massive measures for the betterment of the apple industry which would also include a comprehensive subsidy.

“If an industrialist is given a subsidy for establishing an industry, why not people associated with the apple industry?” questioned Bukhari.

In reply to media questions over the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign, Bukhari said, “We are proud of our country and like in other states as Azadi Ka Amrit Mhaotsav is being celebrated, the campaign will be a huge success across Jammu and Kashmir.” “We are striving for our rights under the same flag thus, participating in such a campaign is absolutely in the right direction,” said Altaf Bukhari.

Responding to queries about Yasin Malik, Bukhari said that he (Malik) confessed his crime in court and law would take its own course.