Central Govt made many mistakes on Kashmir: Abdullah

Alleging that New Delhi has made "many mistakes" on Kashmir, National Conference (NC) president and MP Farooq Abdullah on Saturday said steps should be taken to win the hearts of the people.

 He said it hurts people of the state whenever issues like "revocation" of Article 35-A are raised.

 "It is not that Delhi has not made any mistakes. It has made many mistakes. What is the need to revoke (Article) 35-A? Why? People are hurt because of such things. If you want to connect hearts, then you have to do things which can win the hearts of the people. You cannot win without that," Abdullah said here.

 The former Union minister was speaking at a function at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) here.

 Abdullah, without naming anyone, said there were certain powers who do not want peace in the valley as their "livelihood flourishes on violence".

 "One day, a decision (on Kashmir) will be taken, but we should also try to stand on our own feet (till then). It is not easy, some people will not let it happen. Those powers who live on our blood, will not want to have peace here. They want to keep peace very far from us," he said.

 The NC president said the upcoming local bodies and panchayat polls were for the betterment of the people of the state.

 "The government has announced panchayat and town area committee elections. This is not a decision for India or Pakistan. This is a decision for making your own life better - whether you want to make your village better, address peoples' problems or not," he said.