Srinagar: CPI-M leader M Y Tarigami on Monday said he will try to fix the cracks that have emerged among PAGD constituents — the National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party — over seat-sharing for the Lok Sabha polls in Kashmir.
The PAGD — an amalgam of seven parties, including the NC and the PDP — was formed in the wake of the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution by the Centre in August 2109.
“The emergence of PAGD was due to a crisis which still exists. There have been differences between the constituents recently which are out in public. I will still try to mend the gaps that have emerged,” Tarigami, who is the spokesperson of the PAGD, told reporters here.
The People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) had a seat-sharing arrangement for the District Development Council (DDC) polls held in 2020.
The NC has refused to give up any of the three Lok Sabha seats of Kashmir because it had won these in the 2019 general elections.
The PDP has taken offence over the NC taking a unilateral decision without consulting the PAGD on the matter.
Tarigami said the PAGD was not an electoral alliance but an amalgam formed for a “bigger cause”.
“It (PAGD) is being reduced into an electoral alliance. It is not. We did not have unanimity even in the DDC elections,” he added.
The communist leader said while he was not the one to fix responsibility for the instability of the PAGD, the issues for which the alliance was formed have not been addressed yet.
“I am not here to fix responsibility on who is wrong. In my view, it is more important that the issues for which this platform was formed have not been addressed yet,” he said.
On Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Kashmir last week, Tarigami said it came as a disappointment for many while alleging that people were “forced” to attend his rally.
“The PM came here after a long time, especially after Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh suffered a setback. This was an unprecedented setback and there is no example of it in history.
“We did not have much hope (from the PM’s visit), but some sections were hopeful that there will be relief and some of the things snatched from us will be returned. However, that did not happen,” he said.
In his speech, the prime minister only repeated what he has been saying for the last several years, Tarigami said.
“There was nothing new in the speech but for the first time, the administration was active in organising a rally of a political party. Had the PM come for a (official) function, we could understand,” he said.
Tarigami said the prime minister should be welcomed when he visits any place in the country but it should be out of the free will of the people.
“Forcing people to attend the rally was unprecedented and against the decorum of the PM’s post. There will be consequences of this in coming times. The administration is a vehicle for implementing government policies. It is a buffer between the government and the people. It cannot be partisan.
“If such a thing has happened in past, it was wrong and if it happens again, it will be wrong,” he said.
Tarigami also objected to the PM’s assertion that violence and terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir were due to Article 370.
“Whatever happened on August 05 (2019) has it happened anywhere in India before? There was insurgency in Nagaland and Punjab. Why was there terrorism in Punjab and Nagaland? There was no Article 370 there. Everything is being attached to Article 370. They might even attribute our breathing process also to abrogation of article 370,” he said.
Tarigami said terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir arose due to the denial of basic democratic and human rights.
“That’s why you need to restore democracy and provide safeguards to the people,” he said.
