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Farooq takes over as NC president after six years
| “India Pakistan will not fight, as war will lead to destruction” |
Back at the helm: Supporters greet Farooq Abdullah after he was elected National Conference president, in Srinagar on Tuesday.
SRINAGAR: The former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah, on Tuesday took over as president of the National Conference, a position he handed over to his son, Omar Abdullah, in 2002. The change has taken place after Mr. Omar became Chief Minister on January 5.
The decision to name Dr. Abdullah to lead the party was taken at an extraordinary meeting of the working committee, the NC’s highest decision-making body, here. His name was proposed by senior leader Sharifuddin Shariq; provincial president Mehboob Beg seconded it. According to the NC spokesman, most of the members of the working committee, including the newly elected MLA from Noorabad, Sakina Itoo, Abdur Rashid Shaheen, MP from Baramulla, and general secretary Sheikh Nazir Ahmed were present.
Soon after taking over the reins, Dr. Abdullah was garlanded by his supporters. “My priority will be to strengthen the party at every level. I will act as president till May. After that, we will hold a two-day convention at the State level in which all MLAs and district presidents will vote for the person whom they would like to be the party’s president,” Dr. Abdullah told journalists, adding that the elections for choosing district presidents would be open. “There will be new faces in our party who would lead the party at the district level,” he said.
Dr. Abdullah said he accepted the post to relieve Mr. Omar Abdullah to deliver efficiently as Chief Minister.
Among his priorities is to restore the Mujahid Manzil, the party’s erstwhile headquarters in downtown Srinagar which has been the stronghold of separatists since the eruption of militancy in 1990. “It will start functioning exactly as it used to during Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah’s time. All our Ministers will sit there on a rotational basis and listen to the grievances of the people every Friday. The problems of the people will get registered there and accordingly addressed,” Dr. Abdullah said “The renovation work of the Mujahid Manzil office will start in April and will be completed in a year’s time.” The erstwhile headquarters was set ablaze in 1990 by suspected militants, forcing the party to shift its main office to the high-security Nawai Subah complex in the city.
Dr. Abdullah ruled out a war between India and Pakistan: “The two countries won’t fight as they have understood that war will only lead to destruction. They will fight jointly to eradicate the menace of terrorism and resolve all issues through dialogue.”
Dr. Abdullah took over as NC president in September 1981 after his father stepped down. He transferred the responsibility to Mr. Omar Abdullah in 2002 with a view to infusing new blood into the party. Though Mr. Omar Abdullah and the party faced defeat in the 2002 Assembly elections, this time they returned to power.
Stating that the NC and the Congress will jointly fight the coming Lok Sabha elections in the State, he said: “I myself will campaign for the elections.” Both parties will fight the elections for four Rajya Sabha seats on an equal share basis.
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