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Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra and J&K Apni Party’s Muhammad Ashraf Mir on Wednesday filed nomination papers for the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat, taking the number of candidates to 17.
Mr. Parra, who was arrested in 2020 and jailed for 19 months under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), was accompanied by senior party leaders to file the nomination papers in Srinagar.
“Our party will try its best to represent the sentiments of youth in the Parliament and will resist democratically. The PDP is the only party that raised peoples’ issues and reflected their pain after August 05, 2019 [when the Centre ended J&K’s special status]. When no political leader dared to speak up for their people. [PDP president] Mehbooba Mufti stood for them,” Mr. Parra said.
The PDP took out a rally and assembled at the famous Ghanta Ghar (clock tower). They raised anti-National Conference and pro-PDP slogans.
“Those who are saying the PDP doesn’t exist anywhere should take note of the overwhelming public backing we are receiving. Democracy is the best form of revenge, not violence or weapons,” PDP leader Nayeem Akhtar, who accompanied Mr. Parra, said.
J&K Apni Party candidate Mohammad Ashraf Mir also filed his nomination papers. “This is the time for people to reject traditional parties and their leaders, who have been deceiving them for years and decades through deceptive political narratives and false promises. These parties kept people busy with emotional slogans like ‘Raishumari’, ‘Autonomy’, ‘Self-rule’, and so on,” Mr. Mir said.
He said these traditional parties established “a family rule”. “People need to vote out those who filled our graveyards, introduced pellets and slapped Public Safety Act (PSA) on youth,” Mr. Mir added.
National Conference candidate Agha Ruhullah Mehdi, a three-time legislator, has not filed his nomination papers and is likely to file it on the last day on Thursday. Srinagar is going to vote on May 13.
