referendum-comment-taken-out-of-context-clarifies-pdp-s-waheed-para

Waheed Para, the PDP's Srinagar Lok Sabha seat candidate, wrote to the Jammu and Kashmir election commission clarifying his comments, which urged Kashmiri youth to view the current general election as a "referendum" to send a "message" to New Delhi.

 

Para's reaction came after the poll body sent a notification objecting to the comment and requesting an explanation.

 

The election commission also advised the PDP leader not to make remarks that might exacerbate community tensions.

 

In a two-page response to the nodal officer in charge of implementing the Model Code of Conduct in Srinagar, Para clarified that his comments were "taken out of context, and the inference drawn from there is based on conjectures and surmises, thus utterly unwarranted."

 

He added that any other inference made by anyone was not his "intendment" and hence cannot be attributed to him.

The notice issued to the PDP leader stated, "This act of yours has the potential of aggravating the differences among communities and can cause discontentment in society.

 

You are asked to refrain from issuing such statements forthwith and to make clear the exact context and message you wanted to convey."

 

While responding to the objections raised by the election commission, Para said that his statements about "people's silence" or the fact that "people of Kashmir are not happy with New Delhi" were purely electoral issues on which he was lawfully entitled to agitate as a contesting candidate seeking the mandate of the people and that they could not be construed as violations of the MCC.

 

Para replied that youngsters are "languishing in jail" and "children are caught in drug addiction," which represent "the problems of Kashmir" and are also important election issues.

 

Speaking to journalists on the margins of a party convention in Srinagar on April 20, Para said that there was a need to signal to New Delhi that the "people of Kashmir are not happy" and are concerned about the protection of their identity, land, and contracts.

 

"The entire generation is slipping away from us, with children caught up in drug addiction, education under depression, and the future generation in danger."

 

"To save this, we want people to take this election as a referendum and send a message to New Delhi that people are not happy," he had said.