Need to have dialogue with 'disgruntled' youth of J-K: NC

The National Conference (NC) said on Sunday that there was a need for having a dialogue with the "disgruntled" youth of Jammu and Kashmir for achieving long-lasting peace in the state.

Demanding the restoration of autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir, NC general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar said the party is not seeking anything novel or outside the ambit of Constitution of India.

"There is a need of having a dialogue with the disgruntled youth of the state. The idea of achieving long-lasting peace in the state cannot be achieved by closing the doors for dialogue and reconciliation. The youth of our state have never felt so discontented and alienated as they are feeling now," he said.

"The need of the hour calls for engaging with the youth. An earnest dialogue with the youth will inevitably prove fruitful towards increasing the prospects of peace and prosperity in the state," Sagar said.

He was addressing workers' conventions at Ashmuqam, Pahalgam and Khanabal areas of south Kashmir's Anantanag district.

"We have been demanding for the restoration of the position that our state enjoyed until 1953. We are the only Muslim majority state of India. Maharaja's accession with the Union of India was purely restricted to certain areas," he said.

"Our state is not like any other state of India. The people at the helm of affairs in New Delhi should understand that they are dealing with an area, historically and geographically and in all manner of things with a certain background. They have to be men of vision and there has to be a broad minded acceptance of facts," the NC leader said.

Sagar said the victory of the party candidates from three parliamentary constituencies of the state was reflective of the mood of the people.

"The people of Kashmir have considerably reposed their faith in the party for the sole purpose of protecting the interests of the state. People have come to understand that there is no other credible and strong voice other than NC in the state that could put stiff resistance to the machinations of BJP, RSS and its henchmen in the state," he said.

He added the "forces which are inimical" to the special status and integrity of the state are worried by the wave on ground in favour of the NC and its leadership.

"However, there is (no) scope for complacency, we have to keep on striving hard to achieve our goal. Our goal is explicit and clear, it is to protect the identity of the state and put the state back on the track of development and prosperity. Our principal objective is to work for the restoration of autonomy to the state. The move will go a long way in removing the cobwebs of mistrust between New Delhi and the state," the NC leader said.