Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference Member of Parliament from Anantnag Hasnain Masoodi raised a volley of issues concerning Jammu and Kashmir in the Lok Sabha.
Speaking on the motion of thanks on the President’s address, Masoodi lamented the sacking of a teacher Wazirudin by the state education department in UP’s Bareilly town for making students recite legendary Poet Sir Muhammad Iqbal’s poem in UP’s Bareilly, saying that Muslims across are being pushed to edge across the country.
“His only fault was getting students to recite Muhammad Iqbal’s Lab Pe Aati Hai Dua. Don’t our police and army brass bands play Iqbal’s Sare Jahan Say acha? Weren’t the names of Allah and Ram recited in Gandhi Ji’s prayer meetings? The only reason behind shunting this teacher out was that he recited the name of Allah. How can the government push 30 crore people toward the edge and be blind to their plight? The very social fabric of the country is being tattered. Thousands of people are being arrested in Assam with no consideration for their families,” Masoodi said.
He further took potshots at the government accusing it of undercutting state’s rights and getting governors to work as political agents. “In the Keshwan and Bharti case, the Supreme Court held that federalism is the basic structure of the Constitution. However, there are instances across the country where governors are not giving due assent to legislative bills passed by state legislatures. Therefore there’s no reason for us to join the motion of thanks on the President’s address,” he said.
He further contended that J&K continues to remain under bureaucratic rule for eight years now and that there was no semblance of normalcy in the region. “Govt is making tall claims on democracy but why is that democracy being denied to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. If the situation is normal there then why aren’t the elections being held,” he said adding, “Jammu and Kashmir was denuded of its special status and bifurcated ditching all constitutional norms. Nearly 16000 people were arrested. Many of them still continue to languish in Jails across the country. Eminent religious leaders like Moulana Dawoodi and Moulana Veeri are among them. There is no reason for us to support this motion,” Masoodi added.
Drawing the attention of the chair towards the bulldozer rampage, Masoodi said that every morning bulldozers are sent toward settlements across to unleash destruction. “Jammu and Kashmir isn’t the only place where people occupy state lands. In Gujarat, nearly 30% of settlements are situated on state land and in the financial capital of our country the percentage stands at 50%. We don’t see such a rampage there. Why is J&K is being accorded a different treatment? Are we part and parcel of this country? If unauthorized colonies and encroachments across the country are being converted into freehold rights, why is only JK being singled out? On one hand, we see the government increasing allocations in the PMGSY by 60%. We also see free flats coming up for houseless people in Hyderabad. In JK, the situation is altogether different. These people are being made homeless. This has to stop. Such measures will prove disastrous. I hope the government will put a hold on the rampage and provide respite to people as is being done elsewhere across the country,” he added.
