National Conference promises to grant autonomy to J&K regions if party is elected to power in Assembly polls

Srinagar: Opposition National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah said on Saturday that the party would grant “regional autonomy” to various regions of the state if it comes to power in the next Assembly elections. “We have to focus towards this also that we have so many regions in the state which have their own aspirations. We have to look towards them also. We had formed a committee on regional autonomy. (NC leader Mohammad) Shafi (Uri) submitted a report also on that in which eight regions of the state have been discussed,” Abdullah said in Srinagar. [caption id=“attachment_3707745” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of National Conference president Farooq Abdullah. Firstpost/ Sameer Yasir[/caption] He was addressing a delegates’ session of his party at Sher-e-Kashmir Cricket Stadium in Srinagar, which took place after a gap of over 15 years. During the session, Abdullah was re-elected as the National Conference president. He said granting “regional autonomy” to various regions of the state would restore the rights of the people and it was something which the state government did not have to seek from the Centre. “We do not have to get it from Delhi. If God bestows us with success (in the polls), then the first thing which we will do once we are in the Assembly and take the chairs is to restore the rights of the people and in a legal manner by passing it under laws,” Abdullah said. He said the party would meet soon to discuss the issue. “We are meeting in Jammu over the issue in which we will discuss how to give it a legal shape. I want to tell you from this stage that we will implement it,” he said.