Altaf Bukhari reiterates support for Sajad Lone at PC’s show of strength in Baramulla

The People’s Conference on Thursday held a show of strength in Baramulla, days ahead of the Lok Sabha polling on the seat from where party chairperson Sajad Gani Lone is contesting.

Apni Party chief Altaf Bukhari reiterated his support call to the Lone at the rally. It was the first rally where Sajjad Lone and Altaf Bukhari jointly addressed the crowds.

While more than 20 candidates are in fray from Baramulla, the contest is largely between Lone, former chief minister and National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah and jailed legislator Engineer Rashid.

Addressing the public at the rally, Lone dubbed Abdullah a “tourist”. “I have had to go through a struggle to reach here. I am not a tourist like Omar Abdullah,” he said amid sloganeering for enthused party workers at the College Ground. “Since morning, more than one lakh people have assembled here. The people have already declared the result of the Baramulla seat. Now, you don’t have to wait for June 4,” the leader added.

Lone said the NC was in power in Jammu and Kashmir for 40 years and sent nine MPs to the Parliament from Baramulla, adding, “The people of Kashmir have every right to question what they have done for the people of the constituency.”

Want to end FIR, verification culture: Lone

The leader said he wanted to bring peace into the lives of the people, especially the youth. “I want to end the FIR culture, end the verification culture and want peaceful lives for our youth. The government is always trying to disturb our youth by one or other tactic. We want a similar law for youths of Kashmir which is applied across India,” he said.

He went on to blame Farooq Abdullah for introducing the “verification culture” in 1996 when he was chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and demanded his apology.

The presence of Altaf Bukhari, who has a good support base in Baramulla, also galvanised Apni Party cadres on the ground.

The leader reiterated his support for Lone, saying, “We are one and will give defeat to our political opponents.”

Lone later took to social media, dubbing the event a “tsunami” on X. “What a rally. Thank you ?@JKPCOfficial leaders. Breaking all records. The Kashmir Tsunami,” he wrote on X and posted pictures of the crowd,” he wrote.

Baramulla and Budgam district development council chairpersons and former Jammu and Kashmir deputy chief minister Muzzaffar Baig and several former legislators have also extended support to Lone, who is contesting his second Lok Sabha election from Baramulla. In 2019, his party had emerged as the runner-up on the seat.