Srinagar, Aug 23: At a time when Kashmir-centric political parties are finding it hard to protest against the alleged inclusion of non-local voters in Jammu and Kashmir and both Altaf Bukhari and Sajad Lone targeting Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Decleration for allowing Shiv Sena leaders to participate in ‘All-Party-Meeting, senior Congress leader Saifuddin Soz Tuesday appealed to both the leaders to fall in line with PAGD in public interest.

Soz said these are difficult times and togetherness alone is the safety valve.

“We have fallen to very difficult times in our history. The Central Government has turned totally hostile to our sacred cause i.e. our cherished goal of safeguarding our Internal Autonomy,” Soz said.

He said that leaders of Kashmir had acceded to a democratic India on this basic condition that people shall stay autonomous on matters of Education, Culture, heritage, linguistic pursuits etc. The recently abrogated Article 370 was integral to that proposition, Soz added

“The people of J&K have suffered a great shock through the one-sided Abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution of India. While our democratic struggle for the Restoration of Article 370 will continue, we must resolutely struggle for thwarting the designs of the Centre to change the demographic profile of J&K State. We must tell the Centre that such a move would not serve any purpose for the Union of India also,” Soz said.

“Our suspicions regarding the Centre’s plan to change the demographic profile of the J&K State have become clear when the Chief Electoral Officer Hardesh Kumar said recently, “After the abrogation of Article 370, many people who were not enlisted as voters in the erstwhile state of J&K are now eligible to vote and in addition, anyone who is living ordinarily can also avail the opportunity to get enlisted as a voter in J&K in accordance with the provisions of Representation of the Peoples Act.”

Pertinently, both the Peoples Conference led by Sajad Lone and Apni Party led by Altaf Bukhari stayed away from the All Party Meeting called by the National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah to deliberate on the consequence of the inclusion of non-local voters.