‘I was in Tihar…They are puppets’: Er Rashid on PDP, NC calling him BJP proxy
Engineer Rashid believes that his success in the Lok Sabha elections shows the public's discontent with the Modi government's ‘Naya Kashmir’ initiative.
Lok Sabha MP from Baramulla, Sheikh Abdul Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, has dismissed allegations that he acts as a proxy for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
Rashid believes that his success in the general elections demonstrates the public's discontent with the Modi government's ‘Naya Kashmir’ initiative.
The Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) chief remarked that those who accuse him of being a BJP proxy should feel “ashamed of themselves,” asserting that he is the only mainstream leader to have faced persecution from the ruling party.
“The people who accuse me of being a BJP proxy should feel ashamed. I am the only one who was victimised by the BJP. While Omar and Mehbooba were kept in SKICC for several months during the abrogation, I was the only MLA jailed in Tihar,” said Rashid in an interview with PTI videos.
He alleged that the two former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah of the National Conference (NC) and Mehbooba Mufti of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) failed the people, particularly in the aftermath of the central government’s abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019.
“He (Abdullah) could neither become (Mahatma) Gandhi nor Subash Chandra Bose and same way Mehbooba neither became (queen) Razia Sultan nor Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar. They are puppets, rubber stamps,” said Rashid.
In the 2024 general election, Omar Abdullah was defeated by Rashid in North Kashmir's Baramulla, losing by a margin of 204,142 votes, according to the Election Commission of India.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested Rashid in 2019 on charges related to terror funding. He was granted interim bail on September 10 to campaign for his Awami Ittehad Party candidates until October 2.
He said that the people’s commitment to their rights and identity remains strong, making it clear that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Naya Kashmir” is unacceptable to them.
The Lok Sabha MP also mentioned that the BJP has achieved its goals, including the abrogation of Article 370, and cautioned that any collaboration with the central government could result in further disadvantages for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Targeting Abdullah, Rashid said, “While Omar plays golf and enjoys holidays abroad, he has never called for a peaceful protest against the abrogation of Article 370.”
With PTI inputs