Baramulla MP Engineer Rashid who walked out of Tihar Jail on Wednesday on interim bail for campaigning in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls in a recent interview said that his winning margin was higher than that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his respective constituency.
"I won the Lok Sabha polls with a bigger margin from Baramulla than PM Modi did from Varanasi," he told in his conversation with Aaj Tak.
While PM Modi bagged the Varanasi seat with a margin of 1,52,513 votes, Engineer Rashid won from Baramulla with a 2,04,142 margin.
"The votes polled in my favour were just a referendum against what happened on August 5, 2019," he added.
Rashid on Thursday even hit out at those who tried to project that he won the Lok Sabha elections due to sympathy vote.
"The vote for me was not emotional outpouring. It was against Modi's Naya Kashmir. It was a vote for work that I had done in Langate (assembly segment) on human rights and development," he said.
Rashid claimed that in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, he was pressured to support "the BJP proxy in north Kashmir" but he refused and paid the price for it.
"I don't want to add bitterness to the discourse... I was denied basic facilities available to (jail) inmates because I refused to support the BJP proxy, the candidate (Sajad Lone) who came third. I was put in the ward of mental patients for one and half months," he claimed.
Meanwhile, Rashid said he would support the I.N.D.I.A. bloc candidates in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections if the opposition grouping promises to restore Article 370 whenever they come to power at the Centre.
Rashid came out of jail after being granted interim bail by a special court on Wednesday to campaign for the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
"If I.N.D.I.A. bloc assures us that it will restore Article 370 when it comes to power in Delhi, I will tell every candidate of mine to pledge each vote of their supporters for them," the Baramulla MP told reporters here.
He said if India has to achieve the dream of being a global power, it will have to address the Kashmir issue.
"If India wants to become Vishwaguru, Kashmir issue has to be resolved. If you (PM Modi) have a better solution, please tell us. You are saying that the other side (of Kashmir) wants to join this side. It may be true as well but how do we find out?" he asked.
Rashid's outfit Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) is contesting the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections to be held in three phases -- September 18, September 25 and October 1. The results will be declared on October 8.
(With PTI inputs)