Tihar Ka Badla Vote Se: Engineer Rashid Rallies Voters in Kashmir Elections

OutlookIndia

The slogan "Tihar ka badla vote se" resonated across north Kashmir as Engineer Rashid made his first visit to Baramulla after his surprise win in the Lok Sabha elections. The Baramulla MP has spent the last five years in Delhi’s Tihar jail on charges of terror funding. He is currently out on bail to campaign for his Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections.  In Baramulla, Rashid rallied the crowd with chants of, “Tihar ka badla, vote se. Goli ka badla, vote se. UAPA ka badla, vote se. Zulm ka badla, vote se (we’ll take revenge for Tihar, bullets, UAPA, and oppression through votes)," reminiscent of the “jail ka badla, vote se” slogan his supporters raised during the Lok Sabha elections, which he contested from jail.   Rashid defeated National Conference (NC) leader and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in Baramulla.  Ajaz Guru, the elder brother of Afzal Guru, ran as an independent candidate from Sopore, a region traditionally known for separatist sentiment. Afzal Guru was executed and buried in Tihar jail on February 9, 2013 after being convicted of the 2001 Parliament attack.  Locals in Sopore spoke with Outlook on the "Tihar ka badla vote se" slogan. Mubashir Ahmed Wani, a political science graduate, said that it represents a broader call for justice for all Kashmiris languishing in various jails across the country; it stands for peace and a Kashmir where people can vote freely.  The assembly election, the first in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, was held in three phases. It is also the region's first election in a decade. The results will be announced on October 8.  Follow us: Website: https://www.outlookindia.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Outlookindia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outlookindia/ X: https://twitter.com/Outlookindia Whatsapp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaNrF3v0AgWLA6OnJH0R Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@OutlookMagazine Dailymotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/outlookindia  #JammuKashmir #Kashmir #JammuAndKashmirElections2024 #Elections2024 #Article370 #Statehood

Transcript

00:00Tihar Jail found an echo during recent assembly elections in Kashmir.

00:05It's for the reason, Baramullah MP, Engineer Rashid, who has been recently released from

00:10Tihar Jail, has been campaigning for his party Awami Ittihad.

00:14Rashid has also been campaigning for his brother, Khursheed Ahmed, who is contesting from Lungate

00:19constituency in North Kashmir.

00:22It is this slogan, Tihar ka badla vote se, found an echo across constituencies in North

00:27Kashmir.

00:28Engineer Rashid, in the first instance, he is an institution, an idea.

00:33And the slogan, Tihar ka badla vote se, doesn't mean only they are talking about the release

00:37of Engineer Rashid.

00:38Tihar ka badla vote se signifies that we have to talk about all the prisoners who have been

00:45languishing across the Jail.

00:46It is a slogan to signify that we have to vote against this injustice, against this

00:51cruelty, against this vileness, so that Kashmir will see a peaceful environment.

00:57We can vote freely, people can be out of jails, there can be a pen in the hands of people.

01:02We have to make Kashmir jail free, we have to make Kashmir UAPA free, we have to make

01:06Kashmir PSA free.

01:21Right now, we are at Sopore, the constituency traditionally considered a separatist hotbed.

01:50The constituency was earlier synonymous with Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Gilani.

01:56The constituency of late is now news in these elections with Parliament convict Afzal Guru's

02:02brother Ejaz Guru contesting from the constituency.

02:07Afzal Guru lies buried inside Tihar Jail.

03:04Game of emotions are always there, if you have seen what happened in Parliamentary elections.

03:33What happened?

03:34Tihar ka badla vote se, Jail ka badla vote se.

03:35So it was an emotional sentiment given to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

03:39So as far as Engineer Rasheed Sahib for North representation is concerned, our North representation

03:43got zero, because the day his son came out and told Tihar ka badla vote se, Jail ka badla

03:49vote se.

03:50And we have cast our vote to Engineer Rasheed Sahib, but what happened after when he landed

03:53in Srinagar airport?

03:54He directly went to South Kashmir for campaigning, because that means it clearly indicates he's

03:58hungry for the power.

04:00This is Obeer Naxman with video journalist Yasir Iqbal for Outlook India.

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