Farooq Abdullah, chairman of the National Conference (NC), stated on Monday that the impending Panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir will usher in basic democracy.

“It’s good at least something is being done, Panchayat elections will be conducted. Pradhans will be elected and that will bring basic democracy,” Abdullah said in a press briefing.

The former Chief Minister of J&K, lashing out at the Centre, stated that he will fight them in every election.

“We will fight every election but we won’t beg in front of them [Centre] that they should conduct elections,” he said.

In response to the Poonch terror assault, the NC chairman alleged that Article 370 is to blame for the rise in terrorism in the Union Territory.

Training his guns at the Centre, he said, “Did terrorism ever leave Jammu and Kashmir? They said by abrogating Article 370, terrorism would be eradicated. Article 370 is behind rising terrorism. Recently five brave soldiers were killed in a terror attack. Didn’t they have a family? They were sent in a non-bulletproof vehicle. What else will happen except death.”

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Earlier this month,

Mr. Abdullah suggested that “innocent people” not be jailed as part of the probe into the Poonch terror incident, which killed five soldiers.

He was addressing to media after giving Namaz at Srinagar’s Hazratbal Mosque on the occasion of Eid-Ul-Fitr.

“Now that the investigation has started regarding the Poonch terror attack, innocents should not be arrested. It should be taken special care of. Many innocents are arrested and then tortured. This is the wrong method,” Farooq Abdullah said.

“I don’t want the innocent people to suffer,” he stressed.

On April 20, an Army truck going through Bhimber Gali and Poonch in the Rajouri sector was attacked with grenades by suspected militants, killing five soldiers.