Farooq Abdullah says country belongs to all

He called upon the youth to take up the mantle of saving the state and the country.

Srinagar, March 20: National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Monday said the country belonged to all and not just the people belonging to a single religion adding there will be far reaching consequences if it ceases to remain so.

The NC president, who on Monday filed his nomination papers for the bypoll to the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat, was addressing workers belonging to his party and ally Congress.

"This country belongs to all of us and not just (people from) a single religion. Till this country belongs to all, we will be with it. God forbid, if it does not remain so, then God knows what storm will come," Abdullah said here.

He called upon the youth to take up the mantle of saving the state and the country.

"Whether I live or not, the young leadership has to save not only Jammu and Kashmir, but the whole of India and Pakistan. Jammu and Kashmir cannot be saved until there is friendship between India and Pakistan and for that they have to work together," Abdullah said.

Acknowledging that the "elections will be tough", Abdullah, a former Union Minister, sought Congress support in Srinagar and NC's complete support for the Anantnag bypoll.

As part of a seat sharing arrangement, the NC would contest the Sringar bypoll while Congress will fight from the Anantnag seat. The Congress has named its state president Ghulam Ahmad Mir as the candidate from Anantnag.

He added that if the two parties succeed in the bypolls, they would "try to awaken the conscience of the people inside the Parliament".

"You have make us successful so that when we enter the Parliament, we will try to awaken their conscience. We will tell them that the grave you are digging for us, you might yourselves fall into it. We want to get rid of the violence, we have seen enough of bloodshed. Other states are reaching the sky, but our state has been sunk," he said.

Earlier, Abdullah was accompanied by his son and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, party leader Ali Mohammad Sagar, JKPCC chief Ghulam Ahmad Mir and Congress leader MP Tariq Ahmad Karra when he filed his nomination papers.

PTI