Srinagar: The mainstream political parties in Jammu and Kashmir have unanimously rejected the decisions made about the political future of erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir on Aug 05, 2019 saying ‘people have not accepted the decisions and the day is simply a darkest patch in history’.
National Conference on Tuesday said 5th of August is the darkest patch in the history of J&K marking the ‘forcible, illegal and unconstitutional infringement of the rights of its people’ saying the party will fight the battle for the restoration of people’s rights peacefully and legally.
In a statement issued here, NC termed the actions undertaken on the 5th of August 2019 as undemocratic onslaught on the rights and honor of the people of J&K.
“The people of J&K have although been at a receiving end, we don’t want to put them through added trepidation. Our struggle has always been peaceful, we will continue with that proclivity of ours until our rights are restored,” a party spokesman said.
The Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Conference Tuesday said the Union government’s decision to revoke special status of the erstwhile state was not acceptable to the masses.
Ahead of the first anniversary of the revocation of provisions of article 370 on August 5 last year, the party said the day would be remembered as a “sad day”.
“Decisions taken on and after August 5 (2019) are not acceptable to people. These decisions have been thrust on the people of Kashmir and are bereft of any acceptance or legitimacy amongst the masses,” the party said in a statement.
The statement was issued by the party after an online executive meeting held on Monday.
“We believe, for us, August 5, 2019 is a negative milestone. This will be remembered as a sad day, a day of disempowerment, a day of attack on our identity,” the party said.
The party said the whole exercise is meant to alter unrecognizably the destiny of the people of Kashmir.
“And now it seems certain that Delhi is keen to push the Kashmiris to the wall. The damage being inflicted is irreversible,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami on Tuesday said all the promises made by the Centre at the time of abrogating article 370 last year proved to be a mirage.
“It has been a year since BJP government scrapped J&K’s special status under Article 370, 35A demoted the erstwhile state into two Union Territories. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah justified the decision on the floor of the house, that it would end decades-long militancy, separatism and corruption in the region and bring development, jobs and prosperity,” Tarigami said in a statement on the eve of first anniversary of revocation of Article 370
“However, one year down the line, promises proved to be a mirage and the claims a hoax. None of the aforementioned claims pass the test of reality,” he said. The CPI(M) leader questioned the use of acts like the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Public Safety Act (PSA) if the security scenario had improved in Jammu and Kashmir.
“If violence has really come down and the security scenario has improved, then why does the administration resort to a muscular approach of silencing the voices of the population by arbitrarily booking its people and detaining youth under draconian laws like UAPA, PSA,” he asked.
Tarigami also questioned the government over its claims of job creation and investments in the region when Article 370 was revoked.
“The reality is that lakhs of people have lost their jobs due to the lockdowns and uncertainty in the region. Forget about development and creating new employment opportunities, thousands of daily-wagers, casual labourers, scheme workers and others have been denied wages for months together,” he added.
He said businesses have been shattered in the last year both in Jammu and Kashmir provinces and the economy’s back has been broken.
Tarigami said the only thing that the revocation of Article 370 has achieved so far is a “complete abrogation of democracy in J&K and an unconscionable suppression of civil and democratic rights”.
“On this dark anniversary and at this critical juncture of our history we must resolve to unitedly safe guard the interests of our people and resist the attempts of the government to throttle democracy and rights of the people,” he added.
