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| Now, 'chameleon' MLA relishes 'brutal' army's iftar party | | Run with the hare and hunt with the hounds! | |  ET Report
SRINAGAR, July 3: He misses no moment to slam Indian army for its alleged human rights violations in J&K and often criticizes his mainstream colleagues for "unduly dancing at the tunes of India", earning him the epithet of 'separatist' MLA. But away from the media glare, Engineer Rashid doesn't mind attending a party thrown by the very army which he often labels "brutal'.
On July 1, the army's 30 Rashtriya Riffles hosted an iftaar party at Qaziabad, Langate in north Kashmir. Rashid, who is the local MLA, was also invited.
Witnesses said Rashid not only enjoyed a full-plate dinner comprising a variety of non-vegetarian dishes at the buffet but even hailed the army for having hosted the event.
Some workers from People's Conference led by MLA Sajad Lone and PDP were also present at the party. Rashid, however, was the 'star of the evening'. His photo, filling his plate with a variety of dishes cooked by the army, has gone viral on social networking websites, with people showering choicest abuses on him. "What are you doing with army if you say state and central government have unleashed terror on people through laws like AFSPA…you are nothing but a traitor," a Facebook post read. Another post termed him "chameleon."
Rashid is often accused of doing anything or everything to remains in the news. In March 2013, he moved a resolution in the state Assembly seeking the return of mortal remains of Mohammad Afzal Guru and accused almost all the mainstream leaders of being traitors for falling to get it done.
"This is unfortunate that the state government is behaving like puppet of New Delhi. Heavens would not have fallen had this resolution been put through to a democratic process of choosing the resolution through ballot system on March 30," Rashid had said.
In April this year he drew flak for his controversial remarks that Kashmiri Pandits "must apologise to the majority community for leaving them behind at the mercy of lawlessness".
"Kashmiri Pandits must seek unconditional apology from the majority community for migration and leaving them behind at the mercy of guns, grenades, bullets, crackdowns, PSAs, AFSPA, custodial killings, rapes, murders, forced labour, custodial disappearances, humiliation and rule of lawlessness," Rashid had said.
"Let Kashmiri Pandits understand that they should not have left the Valley under worst circumstances had they been real Kashmiri nationalists. Let Kashmiri Pandits not seek return like tourists but should return to live and die with Muslim brothers under all eventualities," he added.
On June 7, even before the controversy over Article 370 could die down, Rashid stoked another row by observing 'National Day of Kashmir' by unfurling the state flag in the heart of Srinagar.
"Scotland and Ireland regained their lost glory by bringing into fore the importance of the national anthem and the national flag. Kashmir has to follow the same path. This day should serve as a tough message to central government over its misadventures on Article 370," said Rashid.
Calling for reviving the unique identity of Kashmir, Rashid said final peace can only be achieved when the Kashmir dispute is solved in a just manner.
Apart from human rights abuse, he has even protested over the issue of stray dogs. In 2012, he tried to force his entry into the Civil Secretariat Srinagar with a pack of stray puppies in his car when a truckload of stray dogs he was carrying along was seized by police midway from Langate.
Meanwhile, Early Times tried to contact Rashid to know what made him to silently attend the party thrown by the army which he ridicules now and then. He was, however, not available for comment. |
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