Sajad Lone Alleges NC Gifted 7 MLAs to BJP in RS Polls; Launches Campaign Against Reservation Policy

Srinagar, October 25: Peoples Conference Chairman and MLA Handwara, Sajad Gani Lone, on Saturday lashed out at the National Conference (NC), accusing it of “killing merit” through the reservation system and “handing over Kashmir’s political space to the BJP.”

Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, Lone alleged that the current reservation policy was destroying open merit and depriving Kashmiri youth of fair opportunities in government jobs. “This government has buried merit. We will soon launch a full-fledged campaign against this policy — a door-to-door registration drive at the ground level,” he said, warning that the policy was “pushing Kashmir toward a major disaster.”

He vowed that the Peoples Conference would take to the streets if necessary. “We will not hesitate to hold hunger strikes or mass protests. Enough is enough,” he asserted.

Lone also accused the National Conference of secretly aligning with the BJP during the recent Rajya Sabha elections. He alleged that “seven NC members directly gifted their votes to the BJP,” calling it a “fixed match.” “The same party that keeps accusing others of siding with the BJP is now sitting in its lap,” he said.

Criticising NC vice president Omar Abdullah, Lone said the NC intentionally denied Congress a winnable Rajya Sabha seat. “Congress, as a national party, should have been given priority. But NC offered it a losing seat and staged the whole drama,” he said, adding that the NC’s Rajya Sabha members “failed to deliver anything meaningful in Delhi and only sought personal favours.”

Lone described the NC’s politics as “submissive before Delhi,” saying, “For seventy years, their story has been the same — begging Delhi to beat them softly while pretending to resist in Kashmir.”

Referring to the 2019 abrogation of Article 370, Lone alleged that “midnight meetings between Delhi and NC leaders were filled with betrayals.” He urged people to “wake up” to what he called a “long-standing political deception,” claiming that “the BJP ensures its own victories through these very people who abuse it during campaigns but cooperate behind the scenes.”

Expressing gratitude for abstaining from the Rajya Sabha vote, Lone said, “I thank Almighty Allah for keeping me away from this corrupt process; otherwise, all fingers would have been pointed at me.”