Stone-pelters fighting for nation, says Farooq

 Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remark that Kashmiri youth should choose either terrorism or tourism, Opposition leader Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday said stone-pelters were fighting for the nation and had nothing to do with tourism.

“I want to tell Modi saheb that tourism is undoubtedly our life, but a stone-pelter has nothing to do with tourism. He will starve to death, but he is pelting stones for the sake of the nation. They (stone-pelters) are sacrificing lives so that a solution can be found to the Kashmir issue. They are not sacrificing lives for tourism,” he said while addressing an election meeting here.

Modi, during the inauguration of Chenani-Nashri tunnel on April 2, said the youth of Kashmir need to choose between tourism and terrorism.

In his hard-hitting speech, the National Conference chief also favoured a third party intervention to solve the Kashmir issue.

High turnout will favour NC chief

Results of the bypolls to politically strategic Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency would greatly hinge on different factors, the chief one being the boycott call by the separatists, DHNS reports from Srinagar. High voter turnout on the April 9 bypolls would favour Farooq Abdullah, pitted against the lesser known People’s Democratic Party opponent Nazir Ahmad Khan.