Naqvi targets opposition parties in J-K over Article 370

Minister of State for Minority Affairs and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Sunday hit out at the opposition parties in Jammu and Kashmir, saying they are befooling the people over Article 370.

"The Article has been there for ages and the parties have been befooling the people for ages using this issue as a ladder. They don't talk about employment, eradicating poverty, development of Jammu and Kashmir," said Naqvi.

"Million and billions of money come from Delhi to Srinagar. But in between where it disappears nobody knows. Nobody knows in whose accounts it is going. It fails to reach the common man of Jammu and Kashmir. This is the rule of corrupts. We need to end this rule of crooked government," he added.

Naqvi further alleged that the previous governments in Jammu and Kashmir have looted the people of the state.

"The present environment of Jammu and Kashmir is of change. They are moving towards development. The last ruling governments have very brutally looted the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The time has come to get rid of them. Such people are heading towards the election with artificial issues," he said.

Asserting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP Government at the Centre lays emphasis on employment and eradication of poverty, Naqvi lashed out at the Congress, National Conference (NC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for playing dynastic politics and not initiating any developmental steps.

"These parties cannot even list out five things that they have done for the youth and development of Jammu and Kashmir because they have not done anything. They want youth of the state to remain unemployed and poverty to prevail so as to run their political business," he said.

The polling in Jammu and Kashmir began earlier on Tuesday with a record turnout of nearly 72 percent.

The electioneering for the second phase of polling, scheduled to be held on December 2, is in full swing with the leaders of various political parties making all out efforts to woo the voters.

The results will be declared on December 23.