Peoples Conference (PC) President Sajad Gani Lone has said that his party would bring a reconciliation package to reintegrate into the society the Kashmiri youth that have gone astray.

A former separatist, Lone, who is locked in a fierce electoral battle with the National Conference leader and former chief minister Omar Abdullah in the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency, said; “Our prerogative will be to bring in a reconciliation package allowing our youth who may have gone astray, committed mistakes, to reintegrate them seamlessly into society. ”

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“We cannot let 30 per cent of our population remain alienated.”

He unveiled his party’s vision for reconciliation and excoriated political opponents at a workers’ convention in Sumbal, Bandipora.

PC General Secretary Imran Reza Ansari, constituency incharge Sonawari Yasir Reshi, Spokesperson Adnan Ashraf Mir, and Youth President Mudasir Karim were among others present on the occasion.

Addressing his supporters, Lone promised to initiate a comprehensive “reconciliation roadmap”.

He was sharply critical of the incumbent National Conference, questioning their long tenure of 28 years in Parliament.

“They have no locus standi to ask for votes as they have brought no visible positive change that would have benefitted the common man. Without any bias, we are asking them to cite a single developmental project that has transformed people’s lives during this period.”

Lone added that the NC has suppressed the majority of people in Kashmir and in 1996 party president Farooq Abdullah introduced a draconian verification system that made Kashmiris unfairly accountable for others’ mistakes.

“If these are the kinds of leaders we have had, it is no surprise that I, along with countless others, have suffered relentlessly. But that oppressive era will soon come to an end,” he vowed.

The PC chief took direct aim at Omar Abdullah, accusing him of contradictory statements. “He has been caught in a dilemma – calling me a militant at times and labeling me a BJP ally at others. It is his party that has allied with every other party at the Centre, decimating our very identity they now claim to preserve,” he emphasised.

Contrasting his own grassroots connect, Lone took a veiled swipe at Abdullah’s elite status. “A person who doesn’t eat or drink from his own MLA’s house and wants air fresheners to be sprayed before his arrival is a typical tourist who lacks insight into common people’s woes.”

Lone pledged to prioritise core development issues like drinking water access, roads and bridges in Sumbal if sent to Parliament.
“A representative from the 99 per cent majority who can raise people’s voices fearlessly – that is the change we need,” he asserted.