Member of Parliament for Lok Sabha, Engineer Rashid, arrived in Srinagar on Thursday after spending more than five years in prison in connection with a terror funding case.
He was released from Tihar Jail after a Special NIA court granted him interim bail to campaign in the upcoming assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir.
Rashid stated that his fight is much larger than the ones fought by National Conference leader Omar Abdullah and PDP's Mehbooba Mufti. Upon landing at Srinagar Airport after more than five years, Rashid got out of his vehicle and waved to a large crowd of supporters who had gathered to welcome him.
Overwhelmed by the massive gathering outside Srinagar Airport, Rashid broke down and performed a "Sajda" (prostration) on the main road to thank the Almighty.
Addressing the media, who had been waiting for his arrival since the morning, Rashid said, "This is my land."
Responding to recent allegations made by PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti and NC Vice President Omar Abdullah, Rashid said, "I am fighting a battle which Omar and Mehbooba can't fight. My fight is way bigger than these two together."
He added that he seeks peace, dignity, and self-respect for the people, "not the peace of the graveyard," indirectly criticising the two leaders who were at the centre of the 2010 and 2016 uprisings in the valley, which resulted in hundreds of deaths and many injuries.
"I will fight for my people who punctured Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claims of Naya Kashmir through their votes," he said.
Rashid then headed to Baramulla district, where he is expected to address a massive gathering of his party workers and thousands of supporters from across the Kashmir Valley.
He is set to lead the election campaign for his party, the Awami Itehad Party (AIP), for the upcoming assembly polls. He has been released on interim bail until October 2, when polling in J&K is officially over.
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