Engineer Rashid released on interim bail, vows to fight ’PM Modi’s narrative of Naya Kashmir’

Jammu and Kashmir News: Lok Sabha MP from Baramulla, Sheikh Abdul Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, vowed to fight Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s narrative of ‘Naya Kashmir’ in his first speech out of jail. Rashid walked out of Tihar Jail on Wednesday, a day after a Delhi court granted him interim bail till October 2 in a terror funding case so that he can campaign in the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls.

“I am a victim of BJP, I will fight against PM Modi’s ideology till my last breath…I am coming to Kashmir to unite my people, not to divide them…” Engineer Rashid said on Wednesday.

After being released from Tihar Jail, Engineer Rashid said PM Modi’s narrative of ‘Naya Kashmir’ failed in Jammu and Kashmir, in an apparent dig at the situation post abrogation of Article 370, revoking the statehood of valley.

“People have rejected whatever he did on 5th August 2019,” Rashid remarked. “I am committed to working for the welfare of my people. We are not going to get scared.”

Ahead of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls, Engineer Rashid also slammed former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah and said, “My fight is bigger than what Omar Abdullah says. His fight is for the chair, my fight is for the people.”

Meanwhile, NC vice-president Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said Rashid had been granted bail to fetch votes from the people of Kashmir and not to serve them.

Engineer Rashid defeated former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Baramulla. Rashid’s outfit, Awami Ittehad Party (AIP), is contesting the Assembly elections.

Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh has granted interim bail to Rashid, stipulating a personal bond of ₹2 lakh along with a surety of the same amount. The judge has also imposed specific conditions, including a ban on Rashid discussing the case with the media.

Polling for Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections is scheduled to be held in three phases — September 18, September 25 and October 1. The results will be declared on October 8.