Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference on Wednesday denounced booking of Hilal Akbar Lone under UAPA saying “the vindictive government is finding sedition under every stone to silence the opposition”.
“When dissenters are arrested, it goes against the protection accorded to citizens of the country under the constitution,” said party’s spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar while taking exception to slashing of UAPA on party functionary Hilal Akbar Lone. He said: “the right to dissent is a fundamental element of any democracy, and that the government’s utmost disregard for this does not augur well for the country’s democracy.”
“It is outrageous misuse of government machinery to arrest political leaders under one pretext or another. Unfortunately, the ruling dispensation is showing no signs of prudence by resorting to such unwarranted acts of intimidation and browbeating. Such measures tear through the country’s constitutional framework, and no nation can be great whose government is narrow in action and thought,” he said.
Imran said that the ruling dispensation has a different yardstick when it comes to hate speech from its own leaders. “The figures aren’t on the ruling BJPs side as per the association of democratic reforms (ADR), a study released the other day which says that most hate speeches in India are by BJP lawmakers. As per the report of the total of 58 current MPs and MLAs with declared cases of hate speech against themselves, 27 are from BJP. The law has unfortunately been used unscrupulously to silence dissent. It has become a convenient medium for the government to intimidate opposition,” Imran said
“I on behalf of my party denounce the slapping of UAPA on Hilal Lone. I anticipate that sense will prevail on the incumbent administration and Hilal Lone would be released without any inordinate delay. I also call for immediate release of all political detainees who have been languishing in jails since August 2019. The measure I believe will go a long way in assuaging the situation and furtherance of peace in the real sense of term,” he added.
