Ahead of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, National Conference (NC) leader and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah made a significant statement, calling the execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru a mistake. In a recent podcast with news agency ANI, Omar Abdullah expressed his views, saying, "Afzal Guru's execution served no purpose. If we were in power, we would have never approved it." He also mentioned that he does not believe in the death penalty, as it raises questions about the judicial system. Regarding the restoration of Article 370, Omar Abdullah reiterated that it remains an integral part of the National Conference's ideology. He emphasized that the party would not surrender on this issue. However, he acknowledged that restoring Article 370 is beyond the capacity of the current assembly and would require changes at the central government level. He stated, "It took the BJP decades to achieve this, and we are not naive to think we can reverse it in five years." Omar Abdullah further noted that the fight to restore Article 370 is a long one and not the sole issue on which the National Conference will contest the elections. He compared it to the BJP's journey from having just two MPs in Parliament to eventually addressing issues like Article 370 and the Ram Temple. He stressed that the current assembly's focus should be on establishing the kind of governance and state that the people of Jammu and Kashmir desire.
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