NC's vote to UPA is not a permanent shift in its policy: PDP

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senior leader Tariq Hamid Karra on Wednesday said that National Conference has always made Kashmir politics subservient to their family interests and there was a strong element of this pressure, in its recent vote to UPA government on Nuclear Deal.

Addressing a workers convention, at Kanihama in Beerwah, Karra welcomed National Conference president Omar Abdullah's statement in Parliament, in which the later said that he laments on, not resigning from the NDA cabinet, when Muslims were massacred in Gujrat.

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"If Omar Saheb now feels that his conscience is uncomfortable with his past mistake of continuing in NDA cabinet despite the genocide of Muslims in Gujrat, we welcome it. But let me tell him that now, it was too late," Karra added.

He said that people are conscious enough to judge this party as they do not deem its vote to secular forces, as a permanent shift in their party's policies but NC after a visible delay in its decision to vote had actually sensed the wind blowing in Congress led UPA government's favour. "Now Omar Saheb says that he will not repeat the mistake by siding with the NDA is a, mere rhetoric. This party has supported Third Front, Congress and BJP in the past which represents their vacillation. People know that NC is not an untested political party," Karra observed further.

Karra said that National Conference has always applied political rhetoric for their vote bank politics and this party crossed limits of political opportunism, when it supported BJP, which had till then established itself as anti-Muslim and a fascist force in the country. "NC should realise that times have changed and people are now enough mature to judge each and every political party by its performance and they know, which party serves them right," he added.

Speaking on this occasion, PDP senior vice president Moulana Iftikhar Hussain Ansari said that since the UPA has won its trust vote, the nuclear deal is heading towards its accomplishment. "Now the Central government should compensate to Jammu and Kashmir for the disadvantage to it because of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT)," Ansari said.

He added that IWT between the two countries is "extremely unfair" to the State and asked Islamabad to "show flexibility" on the issue to prove its claim of being a "friend" of Kashmiris. Ansari remarked that the State should be compensated by the Centre for the disadvantage to it because of the treaty, which governs the right over six common rivers between India and Pakistan - Indus, Jehlum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej.

The PDP has always represented the aspirations of people and now when the nuclear deal between India and United States is to be given finishing touches, the Central government should transfer five power projects to Jammu and Kashmir. Maintaining that development and progress is subservient to availability of adequate power energy, Ansari underscored the need for paying added attention towards power generation in the state, which is endowed with abundant water resources.

He added the industrial setup in the state still awaits to take off for want of electricity, she said adding that once a strong industrial base is made in the state, and the problems of un-employment would be contained to a great extent.

Reiterating the same, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Ms Mehbooba Mufti has said that her party's support to the UPA Government in Tuesday's vote of confidence was aimed at strengthening the secular forces in the country to avoid recurrence of the gory Gujarat like tragedies perpetrated by communal elements led by BJP.

In a statement issued in New Delhi, the PDP President said while supporting the UPA Government at the Center, her party, at the same time, would ensure that Jammu & Kashmir gets its due share in the economic advantage that would accrue to the country through the nuclear deal. "As the country's leadership is expecting phenomenal improvement in power generation because of the deal, we would expect that a power-starved State like ours also gets adequately benefited," she said and added that on the energy front, Jammu & Kashmir is already at the receiving end due to the restrictions imposed by the discriminatory Indus Water Treaty (IWT) on the use of its waters for power generation.

Ms Mufti said as per the conservative estimates, the State is suffering whopping losses to the tune of around Rs 6000 crore annually because of IWT, and the PDP has been repeatedly demanding sufficient compensation for the same. She said power scarcity is one of the major hurdles impeding the State's economic growth and the issue has to be addressed to tide over the crisis. "I hope with the overall improvement in country's energy scenario through the nuclear deal, Jammu & Kashmir would be adequately compensated for the losses it is suffering because of the IWT," she said and added that besides transferring some NHPC owned power projects like Dulhasti and Salal to the State, the Government of India must also arrange enough funds for new power projects in the State.

The PDP President said immediate, short and long-term measures need to be taken to ease the power situation in the State. She said besides exploring new projects, upgradation of the existing power projects and overhaul of the transmission and distribution system need to be carried forward with speed and in a time bound manner.