Freed On Bail, Rashid Vows To Support Parties Committed To Restoring Article 370

Baramulla MP Engineer Rashid, who was released from Tihar Jail on Wednesday on interim bail, has said in a recent interview that his victory margin in the Lok Sabha elections was greater than Prime Minister Narendra Modi's in Varanasi.

"I won the Lok Sabha polls with a bigger margin from Baramulla than PM Modi did from Varanasi," he told Aaj Tak.

Rashid highlighted that while PM Modi secured the Varanasi seat with a margin of 1,52,513 votes, he won from Baramulla with a margin of 2,04,142 votes. "The votes polled in my favour were just a referendum against what happened on August 5, 2019," he added.

Having been granted interim bail by a special court on Wednesday, Rashid is now campaigning for these elections. He reiterated his stance on supporting candidates who commit to restoring Article 370 if they come into power at the Centre.

Rashid expressed his willingness to support the I.N.D.I.A. bloc candidates in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections if they promise to restore Article 370 when they come to power at the Centre. "If I.N.D.I.A. bloc assures us that it will restore Article 370 when it comes to power in Delhi, I will tell every candidate of mine to pledge each vote of their supporters for them," he said.

He emphasized that resolving the Kashmir issue is crucial for India to achieve its dream of becoming a global power. "If India wants to become Vishwaguru, Kashmir issue has to be resolved. If you (PM Modi) have a better solution, please tell us. You are saying that the other side (of Kashmir) wants to join this side. It may be true as well but how do we find out?" he asked.

Rashid claimed that during the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, he faced pressure to support "the BJP proxy in north Kashmir" but refused and suffered consequences for it. "I don't want to add bitterness to the discourse... I was denied basic facilities available to (jail) inmates because I refused to support the BJP proxy, the candidate (Sajad Lone) who came third. I was put in the ward of mental patients for one and half months," he alleged.

On Thursday, Rashid also addressed those who suggested his victory was due to sympathy votes. "The vote for me was not emotional outpouring. It was against Modi's Naya Kashmir. It was a vote for work that I had done in Langate (assembly segment) on human rights and development," he asserted.

Rashid's party, Awami Ittehad Party (AIP), is contesting the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections scheduled in three phases: September 18, September 25, and October 1. The results will be announced on October 8.