The Hindu : Sajjad rules out participation in poll

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 15, 2002

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Sajjad rules out participation in poll

By Shujaat Bukhari

Sajjad Gani Lone

SRINAGAR JULY 14. Sajjad Gani Lone, Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference, an important constituent of the All-Party Hurriyat Conference, has vehemently denied reports of the possibility of his party participating in the coming Assembly elections. He also dismissed speculation about his joining any other front in Kashmir as the "concoction of a sick mind''.

Speaking to The Hindu here, Mr. Lone, son of the slain Hurriyat leader, Abdul Gani Lone, said there was no question of his quitting the Hurriyat. "We are part of the Hurriyat and there is no need to float a Third Front. We will make the Hurriyat strong and vibrant besides bringing it in tune with world realities... The Third Front is a mere concoction of a sick mind and I do not know how these reports are plugged in the media."

On participation in the Assembly elections, Mr. Lone said, "No, the question does not arise. We are bound by the Hurriyat's constitution and, of course, decision also. The Hurriyat has not reviewed its 1996 decision vis-a-vis participation in elections. So we ought to support the Hurriyat decision." Asked whether the Central Government had been maintaining that separatists should first prove their representative character, he said the Indian Government could not be believed. "The Government of India should send some signals.''

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