‘He divided Hurriyat at the behest of New Delhi’
National Conference on Wednesday said Ex-MLA Syed Ali Shah Geelani was accountable to the people of Kashmir for his failure to convert thousands of sacrifices into a concrete, acceptable resolution and had a personal political history as a former MLA that defied his moral sermons about the mainstream. In a statement issued from National Conference Head Office, ‘Nawa-e-Subha’ in Srinagar, National Conference State Spokesperson Junaid Azim Mattu said it was unbecoming of Geelani and his faction of Hurriyat to issue mercenary press statements against National Conference at the behest of PDP at a time when the State was faced with unprecedented challenges to its political identity and special status due to the PDP-BJP Alliance.
“For Ex-MLA Syed Ali Shah Geelani to think that he is beyond any accountability is ridiculous and conceited. He is more accountable to the people of Kashmir than anyone else.
Thousands of young men in Kashmir sacrificed their lives based on a political sentiment and not for Ex-MLA Geelani’s personal political agenda against the National Conference. These sacrifices were not made so that Ex-MLA Geelani could finally use the blood of our young to enter into covert, quid-pro-quo deals with the establishment and the PDP-BJP Alliance against NC.
We understand instructions have been passed to conceal PDP’s sell-outs as a price for the NIA taking it easy on Ex-MLA Geelani’s family but the people of Kashmir cannot be fooled anymore. There is a limit to hypocrisy and deceit and our advice to Geelani Sahab is to openly and formally join the PDP now rather than being a proxy for the political party”, the NC State Spokesperson said.
The NC State Spokesperson reminded Ex-MLA Syed Ali Shah Geelani that he had taken multiple oaths as a former MLA under the same democratic mainstream political system that he now abuses and was initially opposed to resigning as an MLA as evidenced by history. “Even during the period in our history when the entire Kashmiri nation was struggling for their political identity and rights, Ex-MLA Geelani chose to contest elections and became a part of the State’s Legislative Assembly – often openly opposing the political movement for the restoration of the pre-1952 position. His arrangements with the Janta Party and the Indian National Congress at various crucial junctures in history are a matter of public record.
Geelani Sahab should know that history doesn’t start in 1989 and his own political history as a former MLA is as open to scrutiny as anything else. One fails to understand how the same system was noble and patriotic when Geelani was an MLA and how the same system is evil and treasonous when he decided to choose a path of violence on the shoulders of our youth”, the NC State Spokesperson added.
“The urchin-like, obnoxious and vindictive language of Ex-MLA Geelani’s press statements issued by anonymous ‘spokespersons’ sadly contradicts the ‘stature’ that he has chosen to confer upon himself and validate through a cloak of morality that he believes is unquestionable.
Hurriyat-G’s open, brazen bidding on behalf of covert agencies to save Geelani’s son-in-law from the clutches of the NIA is another shameless and dark chapter in our history. If Geelani Sahab can go to any extent to save his son-in-law and other family members from facing accountability for their questionable financial dealings, why can’t the people of Kashmir exercise their fundamental right to seek answers from him?”, the NC State Spokesperson said.
More recently, Geelani played a pivotal role in facilitating the extension of GST to J&K as he openly termed it as a non-issue and stooped to the extent of warning the business and traders’ community from agitating on an issue that concerned our fiscal and political autonomy. Had it not been for Ex-MLA Geelani and his tragic, shocking support to the PDP-BJP Alliance on GST, the Central Law could not have been extended to the State in this effortless manner. That too was a sell-out he made to save his son-in-law, Mr. Altaf Funtoosh (and consequently himself) from being exposed for shady pecuniary dealings that run into crores of rupees.
While thousands of families sacrificed their sons and are now faced with abject poverty and penury, Geelani and his ilk have amassed millions in property and assets under various trusts and shell organizations. While Ex-MLA Geelani has a democratic right to seek accountability from others, everyone else has a similar right to question the grossly disproportionate assets of his family members and also understand the basis of the PDP-BJP Government’s benevolence on his grandchildren – one of whom was given a customized, plump job at SKICC in violation of all possible recruitment norms and rules”, the NC State Spokesperson further said.
“The fact of the matter remains that Ex-MLA Geelani has been a godsend gift for all those powers who want to ensure that the Kashmir Issue remains simmering and unresolved. Had Ex-MLA Geelani not played the dubious role that he has in prolonging the suffering and misery in Kashmir, covert forces in New Delhi inimical to Kashmir would have had to invent someone to play the role he has played. It was none other than Geelani who played a pivotal role in sabotaging both internal and external engagement to resolve Kashmir Issue at various junctures as it is in his interest to keep the issue unresolved.
Why should he encourage young men to pick up the gun and sacrifice their lives when his own kith and kin are living normal, sheltered lives as placed in government jobs? We don’t question their own personal decisions to defy their grandfather’s ideology and stand – but the fact remains that these favours have been extended to his family in defiance of transparency and merit”, the NC State Spokesperson added.
The NC State Spokesperson said National Conference was a party that sought validation and endorsement from the people of the State and not from intelligence agencies and Brigadiers. “Our history and the valiant struggle of our founder is a matter of public record and our support at the grassroots level bears testimony to our commitment to uphold the honour and dignity of the State. We don’t require certificates from Ex-MLA Geelani and are least bothered about his prejudiced, mercenary press statements but it is tragic that the blood of our youth is being sold to facilitate a personal agenda. Nothing could be more treacherous”, the NC State Spokesperson said.