THE ENTRY into the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly poll campaign of Sheikh Abdul Rashid, the Baramulla MP popularly known as Engineer Rashid, who is out on interim bail till October 2, has changed the political dynamics in the Valley. With his Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) fielding 34 candidates as Independents and forming a “strategic alliance” with the Jamaat-e-Islami, Rashid’s opponents have been calling him “Delhi’s man” who is out to “divide votes”. In an interview with The Indian Express, the 57-year-old speaks about his time in jail, how J&K has changed since the abrogation of Article 370, and how he expects the election campaign to pan out. Excerpts: Q) You have been in jail for five-and-a-half years. What change do you see on the ground? The first thing I observed is that after the abrogation of (Article 370), people are keen to join the electoral process. But this change of mood is not because of (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi’s ‘Naya Kashmir’. It is because people feel oppressed and suppressed. In Tihar (Jail), I saw more than two dozen youths, even minors, booked for social media posts. This is the level of suppression. So, Kashmiris want to give vent to anger through the elections. There seems to be a realisation that a boycott or violence is not going to resolve issues. The second thing I observed is that people don’t let down sincere people. My victory has proved that. Q) Has jail changed you as a person? Every day in Tihar is like 10 years in hell. How has it changed me?. It (jail) lays bare who your foes are and your friends… differentiates opportunism from commitment. Q) Why did you contest the recent Lok Sabha elections from jail? How do you see your win? From January 18 (when the Lok Sabha elections were announced) till my release date, I was the only inmate denied the customary five-minute weekly call to family. This is because I was being compelled to support a BJP proxy – I will not name him. When I refused, I was subjected to the worst sort of humiliation and torture. What I went through would be part of my autobiography. I contested because I was pressured to support their (the BJP’s) proxy. And now, see the irony, the proxies are calling me a proxy. Q) How was your Lok Sabha campaign managed? I did not know what was happening. They (the jail authorities) had completely excommunicated me. My only link was a few newspapers. One day, a jail official told me that my son Abrar was campaigning for me. I was taken aback, I was angry, but what could I do? I sent him a message through someone that he should be in college. But I did not know what happened after that. Q) How did you find out about your win against National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah in Baramulla? Tahir Hussain (a former Aam Aadmi Party councillor jailed in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots) was adjacent to my cell. At around 1.15 pm (on result day), he was watching a Hindi (news) channel when he suddenly shouted. He told me that Omar Abdullah had accepted his defeat. Everyone was happy. Q) What do you think contributed to your win? A perception has been created that I got sympathy votes. It was a vote for my commitment to the people of J&K, it was a vote for the model of governance that I started in Langate (his Assembly seat as MLA). I was seen as the only lawmaker who stood for the people. When I was sent to Tihar, people started questioning ‘Why only him?’ There was a realisation that I am not compromised. Secondly, it was a vote against the Modi government’s decision to abrogate Article 370. Q) You have been a critic of the NC and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In the interest of J&K, would you join a ‘secular’ alliance? I have supported them on occasion. For me, secularism is not important right now. For me, what is important is that Kashmir’s honour and dignity be restored, the Kashmir issue resolved. But then, when they (NC, PDP leaders) were released (from house arrest after the abrogation), they formed the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration. They even invited the Shiv Sena and AAP, but they didn’t invite Engineer Rashid. So, they have lost the moral authority to criticise me. Q) You say the NC and the PDP have no roadmap. What is your roadmap? Once Farooq Abdullah said he would use the Gandhian way to get Article 370 back. Did he ever have a hunger strike for one day? Did he ever ask people to hold a one-day peaceful strike? When they criticised (Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah) Geelani for issuing (protest) calendars, Geelani would ask them to give him an alternative. They couldn’t. … They (the Valley-based mainstream leaders) should not have gone to the Supreme Court. Article 370 was a political issue, but they made it a legal issue. The street is a politician’s playground, not the court. It was a political fight, should have been fought politically. The other thing they did, when PM Modi called an all-party meeting (in June 2021) – only one party was not invited, and that was the AIP – they (the J&K-based parties) asked (then Congress leader) Ghulam Nabi Azad to speak on their behalf. Couldn’t they talk to the PM? What happened after that meeting? Did the PM ever call them? But even then, I am open to joining hands with anyone… if they have a roadmap. If Rahul Gandhi promises that after coming to power, even after 50 years, he will bring a Bill to restore Article 370, I will follow them. Q) But what is your roadmap? My roadmap is my commitment and sincerity. I was an MLA for 11 years, I hit the streets on genuine issues… I tried to represent the sentiments and aspirations of the people… I faced the wrath, but I saved my people… My roadmap is that I want to take this battle out of Kashmir and to Delhi. Omar sahab or Madam (Mehbooba Mufti) were seen as ‘Delhi’s people’ in Kashmir. I am a Kashmiri who is representing Kashmir in Delhi. Q) So would you ally with the NC-Congress or the PDP? Government formation is a very petty issue. The larger issue for me is the resolution of the Kashmir issue. Government formation will be seen after October 8 (the result day). Q) The AIP is being called a refuge for ‘turncoat’ politicians? My strength and resistance against Modi made people follow Engineer Rashid… Why should I avoid it? I made them take an oath that they will follow Rashid’s mission and not betray him. At least 20-30 (other) former legislators and ministers did everything to get the mandate (tickets) of the AIP. I refused. If tomorrow, Modi ji agrees to my terms and conditions, should Kashmiris not talk to him? In Kashmir – where our chief ministers have become like peons and clerks – if I could unite one man from that camp (close to New Delhi), it would be an honour and privilege for me. Q) The stand of both PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah is that there is no issue after the abrogation of Article 370. India is saying we will talk to Pakistan if they stop ‘exporting terrorism’. What will they talk about – biryani, or potatoes and tomatoes? It will obviously be the Kashmir issue. Modi ji has compulsions, he has to create a public perception. Q) How do you see the NC-Congress alliance? It is an unholy, dirty alliance… Why would people support Rahul Gandhi? Rahul Gandhi should say they have miserably failed Kashmiris, his party has belittled us. The main damage has been done by the Congress… Article 370 was just a skeleton and Modi buried it. Q) Once you go back to jail, what will happen to your party? I think there are great lessons in it for New Delhi. When Geelani sahab was (in jail)… despite all the oppression, they couldn’t kill his narrative and his ideology. The moment I came out, the party automatically emerged like a tsunami… everything changed. Today, Omar Abdullah has one name on his tongue – Engineer Rashid. So do Mehbooba and (People’s Conference chief) Sajad Lone… That is my victory. How will the party run? Even their silence will be seen as resistance. Q) There are allegations regarding the timing of your bail, just ahead of the polls. I got bail because Arvind Kejriwal too got bail. I got bail for the elections because I applied citing the same. Where does the question of timing arise?
