“Even after becoming an MP, I am not treated like an Indian. You should ask PM Modi and Amit Shah ji whether Engineer Rashid belongs to India or not. If they say, ‘he does’, then they should release me, and, if they think I am not, then my Parliament seat should be cancelled,” he added
“Modi ji said that he will remove the distance between Kashmir and Delhi. Amit Shah ji talks about Nagaland. Here, in a way, even an elected MP is being made a terrorist. It is a matter of shame,” he said.
Rashid was elected as Baramulla MP in June after defeating former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah by a huge margin. In the ongoing Assembly polls—the first held in the Union territory in 10 years—his party is expected to queer the pitch for mainstream parties.
“You should have so much courage to tell them how shameless you are, he (Rashid) became an MP, and you are telling him that he is a vote cutter. And the most important thing is I defeated my rivals with a bigger margin than that of PM Modi in Varanasi. I won by more votes, hence I defeated Modi ji also. Now I have defeated everyone, what do I need next?” he said.
“If I am a separatist, the entire North Kashmir is also separatist. I’m the Baramulla MP, but I can’t do anything for my people; it’s a mockery of democracy,” Rashid told ThePrint during an interaction at his residence in Srinagar.
‘Pakistan a stakeholder in Kashmir issue’
Rashid, at his rallies and in his speeches, has talked about resolving “Kashmir ka masla” (the Kashmir issue). When asked to clarify what it means, he said: “Logo se poocho aur Kashmir ka masla hal karo (Ask the people and solve the issue).”
“When India and Pakistan got Independence, Kashmir was a princely state, it was a sovereign state. After that using Maharaja and with Sheikh Abdullah’s dishonesty you made him the administrator and you promised Kashmiris a referendum and since then you have not fulfilled your promise,” he explained.
Asked to comment on the issue of a plebiscite, Rashid said he has never used the phrase “referendum”, but insisted that the people of Jammu and Kashmir need to be asked in a democratic manner what they want.
Pakistan, Rashid also said, is a stakeholder in the Kashmir issue and it is a fact that cannot be denied.
“Even the Indian government says that Pakistan should put a stop to terrorism and then talks will take place. If Pakistan will put an end to terrorism, then what exactly is Modiji going to talk about? The talk has to be on Kashmir only. So that means Modiji himself believes that talks have to take place on Kashmir. So he should stop this drama and stop changing goal posts and by doing away with Article 370 nothing is going to happen,” he argued.
Rashid also talked about how over the past few days, several senior leaders and ministers, including Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, have been claiming that the people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) want to be with India.
“Maybe it is true. But will Pakistan allow them to come here? Obviously, it won’t and it will fight and there’s an army at the borders and it won’t allow it. So how will you know that people of PoK want to come to India? The best way to know this is to ask them what they want,” he said, suggesting that if such a thing happens the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) dream of an Akhand Bharat will also be realised.
“And when this happens, then people of Kashmir will say you asked them (those in PoK) whether you want India or Pakistan, but you haven’t asked us, though you had made such promises,” he added.
The Baramulla MP said that if PM Modi’s claim is that, in his ‘New Kashmir’, separatism and militancy have ended, then the prime minister should not have any issue in asking the people of PoK and Kashmir what they want.
“I won’t use the word referendum but ask people democratically what they want. So Modi ji should not be scared and democratically ask all (PoK, Kashmir etc) what they want.”
“Modi ji daro mat aur darao mat (don’t be scared and don’t scare others). The entire Kashmir can be yours, just ask the people of Kashmir democratically what they want and your dream will be realised. And if you have any other solution, then tell us and we will discuss it. So how does saying all this means that I am a separatist?” he asked.
“We just want people to be consulted and asked to resolve the Kashmir issue. My party’s stand is that India, Pakistan and Kashmiris should sit and resolve the Kashmir issue,” he added.
‘PM mediates issue of the world, but doesn’t talk to Kashmir’
Lashing out at both the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the NC, Engineer Rashid said both Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah have not given any calls for peaceful strikes for the restoration of Article 370 since elections were announced.
“Did their MPs wear a black badge on their arms or raise the issue in the Parliament? For them, elections are a slogan, but for Engineer Rashid, all that has been snatched away from Kashmiris has to be brought back and that’s why I am in Tihar,” he added.
Rashid said if the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), Rahul Gandhi, and the Congress can promise that “whenever their government comes to power, they will include the restoration of Article 370 in their manifesto in Parliament”, he will withdraw all his candidates.
“They (all the political parties) have destroyed Kashmir. Omar sahab was a minister in the BJP government, as was Farooqji. Madamji (Mehbooba Mufti) gave a launching pad to BJP (when PDP was in alliance with BJP). For us, there is no difference between NC and Congress. But if no one else from Parliament can do it does it mean it won’t happen? No, to achieve this (restore Article 370) one will have to go to jail like Engineer Rashid,” he said.
Hitting out at Modi, Rashid said while he “becomes a mediator in the war between Ukraine and Russia” and interferes when something happens in Palestine and Israel, he doesn’t talk to Kashmir. “You have taken the troubles of the world, but you don’t know about your home, you strike us with terror,” he said.
Rashid said, even when Hurriyat leader and three-time MLA Syed Shah Geelani served as an MLA thrice, all protocols were flouted and even his “religious rights were violated” at the time of his death.
“The person on whose signal the entire Kashmir used to shut was also buried in the dark of night, this simply means that they were afraid of Geelani. Today there is even more fear than that, children are banned, people are banned for writing Facebook posts,” he added.
Never raised anti-India slogans.
Surrounded by his supporters at his residence, Rashid said he was not scared to go back to Tihar, but he rued not being able to do anything for his constituency despite being an elected representative.
“I am Baramulla MP. But I have not been able to do a single thing for the people because I am not even able to get bail. Is a 5.5-year period not enough for me to get bail?”
“The people of Baramulla voted for me while I was in jail. Did you hear a single slogan ‘Hum kya chahte hai, azaadi’ (What do we want, independence), in my campaign did you ever hear ‘Kashmir banega Pakistan’ (Kashmir will be part of Pakistan)? I won this seat by over 2 lakh votes and If I am a separatist, then the people of the entire north Kashmir are separatists. Had I contested from south Kashmir, I would have won from there as well,” he said.
Rashid denied claims from many political leaders and experts that hinted at a fractured mandate in the assembly elections. But, even in such a scenario, he said, he will not ally with the BJP. If required, the party will take people’s support for the Kashmir cause.
“Those who tortured me so much, humiliated me so much, and attacked me several times, I don’t even want to look towards them. It is a question for the BJP to answer, they need to introspect why no one wants to align with them; what disease have they got that everyone wants to stay away from,” he said.
Asked about the tag of separatist used against him by his opponents, Rashid countered by saying that he has never raised anti-India slogans.
“Had I said Kashmir will become Pakistan, give Azaadi to Kashmir then you could talk about separatism. I have always said that the right to self-determination you yourself had committed to, you promised to the United Nations. Nehru ji had promised, there are about 10-15 resolutions, after that, you have been changing the goal post,” he said.
“You arrested Sheikh sahab, the post of PM was done away with, and then a little bit was left in the form of Articles 370 and 35A, and now you have done away with that too. There has been a series of cheating since 1947 by the state of India. When I became an MLA I took an oath under the Constitution of India, then how am I a separatist?” he questioned.
‘Was isolated in Tihar’
Rashid also denied the allegations that he got pity votes in the Lok Sabha elections when he was lodged in Tihar, adding that people voted for his “idea of development, commitment, dedication and sincerity”.
Recounting his experience, Rashid said the first nine months in Tihar were “torturous”.
“I was taken out of the cell only for an hour in the day; I could not even call my family during this time. I took charge of the library and it was a wonderful experience.”
“An announcement was made in the jail, I swear by my Prophet, they said none of the inmates will talk to me,” he further said.
“After 18 January, I was taken out and kept in a mental asylum along with criminals. I was not even given food,” he alleged.
“The day I won (the elections), I had no idea and no information, but my non-Muslim inmates distributed sweets worth Rs 2 lakh to celebrate my victory. Modi and Amit Shah are projecting an elected MP as a terrorist,” he added.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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