India Foundation’s Young Thinkers Meet In The Valley Raises Political Storm

The India Foundation’s Young Thinkers meet in which Peoples’ Conference chairman Sajad Lone; Apni Party chairman Altaf Bukhari participated, have managed to face criticism from the National Conference. The party claimed that both Peoples’ Conference and Apni Party are now RSS in Kashmir.

Tweeting pictures of BJP leader Ram Madhav sharing the stage with Peoples’ Conference chairman Sajad Lone and the Apni Party leader Altaf Bukhari addressing the meet, National Conference spokesperson Sara Hayat Shah tweeted, “Something called “Young THINKERS” was an interactive session between the RSS members who visited the valley & the RSS members in the valley.”

This is a rare occasion when the National Conference has said something offensive against the Apni Party and the Peoples’ Conference.

Responding to the tweet, the Peoples’ Conference spokesperson and director of communications, Adnan Ashraf Mir called the RSS an evil but described name-calling opposition as an old trick of the National Conference. “An old trick since Sheikh sahib's time - name call opposition. It's another matter that Mr. @OmarAbdullah put young ones in their graves before they could become thinkers in 2010 & 2012. RSS is evil no doubt but not as evil as those who didn't blink an eye while killing teenagers.”

National Conference another spokesperson Ifra Jan asked the Peoples’ Conference how the RSS think tank chose only two parties from J&K, “having lowest vote share,” for the meet “especially, at a stage where people of J& K & the Central Government are at logger heads over the Abrogation of 370 & 35A?.”

Srinagar Mayor, Junaid Azim Mattu who is at present with Apni Party described National Conference criticism as a case of inciting murder. “Apropos the petulant, churlish, murderous  @JKNC_“outrage” over the recently held Young Thinkers Meet (YTM) by @indfoundation: 1. A classic case of inciting murder. Meeting RSS Leaders in Hotel Rooms in Delhi is Halaal but participating in India Foundation panels is Haraam,” Mattu tweeted.

Earlier, Mattu was the spokesperson of the National Conference. He later joined Peoples’ Conference and last year he decided to join the Apni Party. As a spokesman of the National Conference, he was very critical of the BJP and the RSS and when the PDP formed the government with the BJP, he would describe it “nefarious RSS-PDP” nexus that threatens future of Kashmir.

The three-day long Young Thinkers Meet-2021 was held at picturesque Pahalgam valley in South Kashmir. The Lt Governor Manoj Sinha also addressed the participants at the end of the program.  The meet was attended by Shaurya Doval, Member, Board of Governors, India Foundation, Alok Bansal, Director, India Foundation, Ram Madhav, Member, Board of Governors, India Foundation, and members of Board of Trustees and other office bearers of the Foundation.