Awami Ittehad Party will show black flags to Narendra Modi during J&K visit in Feb, says ex-MLA Sheikh Abdul Rasheed

Srinagar: Former MLA Sheikh Abdul Rasheed on Wednesday said his Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) will show black flags to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his 3 February visit to Srinagar to protest the Centre’s “colonial mindset” and “looting” of Jammu and Kashmir’s resources. He also expressed concern over a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to be signed between the Centre, state government and National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) for starting work on the 850MW Ratle Power Project. [caption id=“attachment_5926851” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Modi riding in a howitzer. ANI[/caption] “We will receive Narendra Modi with black flags in Srinagar on his upcoming visit to protest against the colonial mindset of New Delhi and against looting resources of the state,” Rasheed said in a statement here. “While the (Jammu and Kashmir) State Power Development Corporation (JKSPDC) is competent enough to construct Ratle or any other power project, New Delhi seems to be adamant to loot our resources and is always utilising services of NHPC like East India Company,” the former MLA said. Rasheed alleged that though GVK Power and Infrastructure had started work on Ratle power project, the company left the project midway after realising that the state power development corporation will not allow it to fulfil its selfish designs. He said there was no justification for bringing companies from outside the state for constructing power projects as the JKSPDC had successfully commissioned 900 MW Phase-I and Phase-II, thus making an annual turnover of more than Rs 1,500 crore. Rasheed claimed that on the directions of the Prime Minister’s Office and the Union power ministry, the Jammu and Kashmir government has prepared a draft to construct the Ratle Project through joint investment between NHPC and JKSPDC. “While NHPC will be investing and owning 51 percent of the total project cost, JKPDC will get just 49 percent shares. As per the agreement the project will be handed over to the state government after 25 years and for the first 10 years, the state is going to get nothing out of the said project after being commissioned,” he said. In the agenda of an alliance between PDP and BJP, the state was supposed to get power projects back from NHPC, it is “shameful that New Delhi is misusing governor’s office and position to loot the resources of the state”, he alleged.