ANANTNAG — Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar on Sunday said there is a silence in Jammu and Kashmir and actual peace would be established in the Union Territory when his party comes to power.
“There is a difference between silence and peace. There is a silence here. We have to bring actual peace,” Kumar told PTI Videos here.
Kumar was here to campaign for All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir, who is the party’s candidate in the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls from the Dooru seat.
Kumar said there is “a huge anger against the oppression” that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have been subjected to over the last 10 years.
“Our understanding is that this time, the voting percentage in Kashmir will be the highest. This voting will be against oppression, unemployment, the injustices done to the people of Jammu and Kashmir and to get back their right to statehood,” he said.
The Congress leader accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of harbouring “ill intentions”.
“Those who are contesting the polls as independents are actually slaves of (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah. That is why the election in Jammu and Kashmir this time is a fight between two powers –“ on one hand there are those who spread hatred and on the other are those who spread love and fight for the rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Kumar said the election is a battle between two ideologies, with the National Conference-Congress coalition on one hand and the alliance of all others, “which is essentially the BJP’s alliance”, on the other.
“This fight is between love and hate, between justice and injustice. It is a fight for giving back the people of Jammu and Kashmir their rights, which were snatched from them. People here have understood that they must not allow a division of votes,” he said.
The 90-member Jammu and Kashmir Assembly is scheduled to go to polls in three phases on September 18, September 25 and October 1, and the counting of votes will be taken up on October 8. — (PTI)