00:00Jammu and Kashmir elections are very interesting, every day some or the other leader leaves the party but before the announcement of the elections,
00:29Ishfaq Jabbar has left the party.
00:32We have with us, Ishfaq Jabbar.
00:36Thank you very much.
00:38My political career, my legacy, my father, late Sheikh Abdul Jabbar, he was a former minister,
00:47who was assassinated by militants, only for that he was a true patriot.
00:54He was a true patriot.
00:56He always gave importance to democracy and for the people of Jammu and Kashmir,
01:01his contribution in Jammu and Kashmir, especially in the district of Gandharbal, people still remember him.
01:09Seeing him, I joined politics and left my job.
01:16I left my job when I was 8 years old.
01:21I contested in 2008, on the ticket of Congress.
01:26After 27 years, I fought with a candidate from Congress, from Gandharbal.
01:31I took 10,000 votes against Umar.
01:35Then Umar forced me to come back to the party.
01:39My father was a close friend of Sheikh Abdul Jabbar.
01:46He was in jail with Sheikh Abdul Jabbar for 16 years.
01:49Seeing him, I thought that this is a local, regional party.
01:53We will be able to safeguard the regional aspirations of Jammu and Kashmir.
01:58We will be able to safeguard our special powers and our identity.
02:04That is why I joined the National Conference in 2014.
02:09I fought with the National Conference in 2014.
02:14By the grace of Allah, I won the election.
02:17The veterans of that time, late Qazi Muhammad Abzal,
02:21who was a senior leader and minister of the PDP,
02:24it was not a small thing to defeat him from Gandharbal.
02:28He was a great personality.
02:31Mr. Ishfaq, you fought on the ticket of NCE in 2014.
02:38You are against them in today's election.
02:42What has changed in the last 10 years that you had to leave the party?
02:45There is a lot of leg pulling in the party.
02:49There is a system where some people have hijacked the party.
02:55The genuine people of the National Conference were ignored.
03:00According to Mr. Umar Abdullah's behavior,
03:04he had a big gap with his cadre.
03:07He did not meet them. He did not even interact with his MLA.
03:12He was more disconnected from people and the cadre of the party.
03:17The people who were around him, whatever they said about someone,
03:22some gossip, etc.
03:24After the abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35,
03:34I was in detention for 10 months.
03:37When I came back, I told Mr. Umar and Mr. Farooq
03:44that we should go in front of the people.
03:47The way farmers are fighting peacefully within the constitution,
03:52we should also go to the people in the same way.
03:56The way they refused to take legal action,
04:00I thought it was a big compromise with Delhi.
04:05The way they did it, it started from there.
04:09We are the representatives of the people and we have to convey the message to the people.
04:13If we do not solve the problems of the people,
04:16how can we be called representatives of the people?
04:18I was often told not to meet LG or the governor at that time.
04:23But when there was pressure from the people,
04:26because Gandharbal was a politically sensitive area,
04:30and I also wanted to survive from here,
04:33I met Mr. LG with the problems of the people.
04:36And for the survival of Gandharbal, that was also an issue
04:40that Umar Abdullah and his people did not like.
04:43So, Mr. Ishfaq, did we think that the closeness you had with Delhi,
04:50was also increasing your distance from Umar Abdullah?
04:55No, look, we did not have closeness with Delhi.
05:01When the fractured mandate came here in 2014,
05:06PDP, NC, whatever it was, didn't Mr. Umar meet Mr. Ram Madhav?
05:10Mr. Ram Madhav did not stay here in Gandharbal for two days.
05:15He visited Gandharbal twice at that time.
05:18I don't want to take names.
05:20So, Umar Farooq was sick abroad, so his people, the people of the BJP, did not meet him.
05:26So, it was almost decided that we are making a government with the BJP.
05:31But there were some talks within the party,
05:34within the party, on which there was a resignation,
05:37and their demands, the three-year-long sharing as the Chief Minister,
05:42Umar Abdullah did not agree.
05:44That is why he could not be elected in 2014.
05:47Then he made a government with the PDP.
05:50Mr. Ishfaq, how do you feel about this competition with the Vice President of the National Conference,
05:56in that constituency, which used to be his den?
06:00Look, Mr. Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah used to say that
06:05the leadership of the people is the greatest.
06:08He has moved away from the people.
06:11There are only a few selected people around him.
06:16And we had repeatedly told Mr. Umar that
06:19you have to go to Sonwar, where you live,
06:22because today people want their representative to have access to us,
06:26which is available to us for 24 hours,
06:29so that we can come and go to their houses.
06:32So, these parachute leaders,
06:34no person or young man today wants a candidate to get down from a parachute.
06:41So, these are the things that Mr. Umar said at one time that
06:45I will build a house here in 2008.
06:47But he did not build a house.
06:49That was also a joke with Gandharwal.
06:51He said that I will sit here for two days a week,
06:54I will have a public court.
06:56That court was also not held after 2008.
06:59He said that I will give a job here at home.
07:02That was also not found.
07:04And your development is in front of you,
07:06our road is not there.
07:08When we gave five ministers from here,
07:10from late Sheikh Abdullah to Umar Abdullah,
07:13the National Conference ruled for 40 years.
07:15So, somewhere they should also think that
07:18the people of Gandharwal are no longer the same as they used to be.
07:20Today, they also have discrimination.
07:22They want to live a life of slavery.
07:25How long will they live a life of slavery?
07:28So, Mr. Ishfaq, how is the competition of thorns with Umar Abdullah?
07:32There will be a very tough competition with Umar Abdullah in this Gandharwal Conscience.
07:38Yes, there is a competition with everyone.
07:41We understand that whoever is in the candidate frame,
07:44the competition is also with them.
07:46At the end of the day, people have to decide who they choose.
07:50We are also going to the people with the agenda of development.
07:54The work we have done here in our 22-year tenure,
07:58we will put it in front of the people.
08:00The 70 years they did in Gandharwal, they should also keep it.
08:04So, at the end of the day, people will decide who they want,
08:09that the people of Gandharwal, we should end this demanding rule here.
08:15Whoever is in Gandharwal, I believe that he should be a local representative.
08:21Mr. Ishfaq, a while ago, in Lahore,
08:25while addressing an election convention,
08:28Umar Abdullah also accused that Mr. Ishfaq wanted to stay near the LG office,
08:34or near New Delhi.
08:36How much truth is there in this?
08:38Look, Mr. Umar Abdullah is saying a lot these days,
08:42and he is only seeing Ishfaq.
08:45I think Ishfaq's face must be visible even in dreams at night.
08:52So, I meet Mr. LG during the day,
08:57and he meets me at night, that's the difference.
08:59I don't meet him like a thief,
09:02I meet him in broad daylight with my people,
09:06and I support Gandharwal, for the development of Gandharwal.
09:10And I have an agenda, Mr. Umar should tell.
09:12Ishfaq Jabbar says, if people elect me here,
09:17I will generate 30,000 jobs in Gandharwal.
09:20If he wants, he can debate with me somewhere.
09:24So, we will tell, through your channel,
09:27how we will develop here, how we will find employment.
09:31And whatever I did in 30 years,
09:33he kept 70 years aside,
09:35I will keep my 3 years.
09:37Let's see whose turn it is.
09:38We can clearly see his childishness,
09:43the way he is behaving.
09:46Ishfaq Jabbar is a small resident of Gandharwal.
09:49Umar Abdullah is a big prince,
09:52he has come from London as a tourist.
09:55It's okay, let him speak.
09:57Mr. Ishfaq, there is a prominent saying,
10:00there are no permanent friends and enemies in politics.
10:04Can there ever be a time when Mr. Ishfaq joins the NCA?
10:10Look, nothing is impossible in politics.
10:15Here, the enemies of tomorrow can be friends of the future.
10:20But where I am here,
10:23it is possible that tomorrow there will be a coalition government,
10:26in Kashmir.
10:28When Mr. Ishfaq Jabbar used to speak,
10:30free candidates used to come from Gandharwal.
10:32I don't have to think about my people,
10:35where do I get them from?
10:37And I have 4-5 other candidates in the frame.
10:39It is possible that if God wills,
10:41one of them should win and come.
10:43So, Ishfaq Jabbar,
10:45then our demand will increase.
10:48So, Umar Abdullah will have to knock on our door
10:51if he gets a seat.
10:53There is less hope for him,
10:55due to the internal fights that are going on right now.
10:57He has put lollipops in the mouths of 10 candidates.
11:00Only one got a lollipop.
11:029 are angry.
11:04Now let's see how the situation will be in the future.
11:07Mr. Ishfaq, your family has been very close to the National Conference.
11:11Your late father was also very close.
11:14So, is this a personal fight,
11:18or are your complaints against the National Conference leadership,
11:22or is it a war of principles?
11:24Look, this is a war of principles.
11:26It is a war of principles.
11:27When you, the Mansoor of your party,
11:32when you cry over it,
11:34when you yourself erode an institution,
11:37when you had kept Ishfaq Jabbar as the district president,
11:41you yourself eroded that institution.
11:44You insulted Ishfaq Jabbar a lot.
11:47You didn't insult me,
11:49you insulted your party yourself.
11:52Then you beat up people right and left.
11:54You made conspiracies against me.
11:57You didn't do it today,
11:59you have been conspiring here since the 1970s.
12:01You made conspiracies against Moulana Masoodi.
12:05You made conspiracies against my late father, Sheikh Jabbar.
12:08How many of you can I count,
12:10who you divided and ruled in Gandharbal?
12:12So, how long will this go on?
12:14And the public knows that
12:16there is no delay in Allah's house.
12:19His stick doesn't make a sound.
12:21You see, what will be Allah's will?
12:23Because Allah hears the voice of someone's heart.
12:28When you are oppressed,
12:30when you are oppressed by a poor person,
12:33then you, Mr. Umar Abdullah,
12:35not only your party,
12:37you will not even have a trace of your name.
12:39So, Mr. Ishfaq, I am repeating an interesting question again.
12:42If Mr. Umar Abdullah extends his hand of friendship towards you,
12:46will you hold his hand?
12:48Look, this is not up to me,
12:51my party,
12:53there is a group here,
12:55our working committee is working,
12:58the core committee is working.
13:00If such situations arise,
13:02then we will also think about it.
13:04That will also happen,
13:06which will be in the interest of the public,
13:08which will be in the interest of the public.
13:10At the end of the day,
13:12we only have to think about the public and our Jammu and Kashmir.
13:14How will our Jammu and Kashmir remain safe?
13:16How can we restore our identity that has been snatched from us?
13:20How can we fight for it?
13:21How can we fight for it?
13:23Keeping your personal interests,
13:25your personal fights aside,
13:27we have to think about Jammu and Kashmir,
13:29we have to think about our people.
13:31For that, if Ishfaq Jabbar has to make a sacrifice not once,
13:34but ten times,
13:36I will never back down.
13:38One last question, Mr. Ishfaq,
13:40which side is the wind of Gandharwal facing?
13:42Is it towards Sonwar or Gandharwal?
13:44Look, you must have seen it yourself from the morning.
13:47All the rallies that Mr. Umar did,
13:51you must have seen the same people in Manigam,
13:55you must have seen the same people in Yarmukam,
13:57you must have seen the same people in Lahr,
13:59you must have seen the same people in Raipura.
14:01There will be a difference of eight to ten people.
14:03You must have seen it yourself when the nomination form was filled.
14:07You must have seen it that day as well.
14:09I can't say that
14:12they will think that Mr. Ishfaq is arrogant.
14:15That's why I leave it to the people and the situation.
14:19The people have the power.
14:21The people will decide.
14:23I won't say much on this.
14:25Thank you, Mr. Ishfaq.
14:27This was Mr. Ishfaq with us,
14:29who is fighting against Umar Abdullah
14:31with Gandharwal Conscience.
14:33With cameraman Irfan Shah,
14:35Izhar Ali, for One India in Gandharwal.
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