Srinagar: Defending their decision to participate in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, two rebel leaders of Peoples Conference (PC), a constituent of Hurriyat Conference (HC), on October 7 said they decided to enter the fray since the separatist leadership refused to do so even after the Prime Minister promised to hold talks with elected representatives to resolve Kashmir issue.

Ghulam Moiuddin Sofi and Abdul Rashid Mirchal, who addressed a press conference in Srinagar along with several other independent candidates, also attacked the ruling National Conference (NC), saying it was "the root cause of all ills and the biggest obstacle in the path of bringing peace to the violence-torn state."

Asserting that they had entered the fray to respect people's desires, Sofi and Mirchal disfavoured use of force against those holding differing political views.

When US Secretary of State Colin Powell and the European Union asked the Hurriyat to contest polls and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee promised to hold talks with the elected representatives, "our leadership should have displayed statesmanship and entered the fray", they said.

"But as no such step was taken, we decided to contest the polls to respect people's desire. The people have demonstrated their support (to us) despite fear," they said.

Sofi said they were not concerned with victory or defeat but their participation would help in gauging the mood of the people.

PTI