Rashid gets interim bail, J&K leaders sceptic of timing
While the AIP cadres broke into celebrations, Valley leaders expressed scepticism about the timing. Reacting to the development, former CM Omar Abdullah said the motive of Rashid being granted bail was to “get votes”
A Delhi court on Tuesday granted interim bail till October 2 to Baramulla MP Engineer Rashid in a terror funding case to enable him to campaign in the upcoming state assembly elections.
Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh granted the relief to Rashid on a personal bond of ₹2 lakh and one surety of the like amount. “I am granting interim bail till October 2. He will have to surrender on October 3,” the judge said, while imposing various conditions on him including that he shall not influence the witnesses or the probe.
Rashid, who had defeated former chief minister Omar Abdullah in the Lok Sabha polls, heads the Awami Itihad Party (AIP), which is contesting the ensuing assembly polls.
While the AIP cadres broke into celebrations, Valley leaders expressed scepticism about the timing. Reacting to the development, former chief minister (CM) Omar Abdullah said the motive of Rashid being granted bail was to “get votes”.
“The bail has not been granted to him to attend the Parliament as an MP, the only purpose of the bail is to get votes in Kashmir,” Omar told media persons in Srinagar, adding that Rashid will be taken back to the Tihar jail and people of North Kashmir will be again be without any representation in the Parliament.
Omar said people had varying opinions about Rashid and cited Mehbooba Mufti’s remark of the leader working at the behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“My only request to voters is that they shouldn’t allow their votes to get divided,” he appealed, before claiming that Union home minister Amit Shah has said the BJP will form a government with the AIP, Peoples Conference and other parties. “If people want to form a BJP government then they should help these parties,” he added.
Congress spokesperson Sheikh Amir, meanwhile, termed the bail being granted a part of “BJP’s game plan”. “It’s all happening to influence the voters in north Kashmir and at the behest of BJP,” he said.
Former CM and Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) president Ghulam Nabi Azad, meanwhile, welcomed the interim bail. “I welcome the interim bail order granted to Eng. Rashid Sahib by the Delhi Patiala House Court. As a democratically elected MP with a strong mandate, this is a step towards justice and his right to campaign in the assembly elections,” he said in a statement.
Notably, Azad had supported Rashid’s candidature from Baramulla during the Lok Sabha polls.
BJP spokesperson Altaf Thakur said, “Omar Abdullah must be feeling the heat of this bail to Engineer Rashid.”
AIP supporters were busy bursting crackers to celebrate the interim bail announcement. “For us it’s very big news that our leader has been given bail so that he can campaign in the elections,” former legislator Shoiab Nabi Lone, who is contesting assembly elections from Baramulla on AIP ticket, said.
