The opposition parties in Jammu and Kashmir have decided to hold a protest rally on October 10 against the “snatching of Constitutional rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.”
The decision to hold a protest was decided after a meeting in Jammu at NC leader and MP Farooq Abdullah’s residence on Tuesday.
“We have decided to hold a protest on October 10 against the snatching of constitutional rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,’’ Abdullah said after the meeting.
He said the protest would be the first step and the programme will be charted out later. He said they would approach the divisional commissioner for Jammu for permission to hold the protest and hoped that it would be granted. Apart from him, PDP leader and former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti, Congress president Vikar Rasool, former minister Raman Bhalla, CPI(M) senior leader and former MLA Mohammed Yousf Tarigami, former minister Harsh Dev Singh, Dogra Sadar Sabha chief and former minister Gulchain Singh Charak and Awami National Conference (ANC) senior vice president Muzaffar Shah attended the meeting.
A five-member committee was formed for coordination and devising future strategies with Congress spokesperson and former MLC Ravinder Sharma, NC provincial president Rattan Lal Gupta, former Minister Harsh Dev Singh, ID Soni of IDP and Hari Singh of CPI as its members.
The opposition parties have also decided to request the INDIA alliance to hold a meeting in Jammu.
Accusing the government of snatching the constitutional rights of the people in J&K, Abdullah questioned the rationale behind not holding the elections in the Union Territory.
“While holding G-20 meet the government claims that the situation is good and when it comes to holding of elections they say that the situation is not conducive,” he said. “Amit Shah claimed that after the Article 370 abrogation situation is better in J&K. Then why don't they hold elections?”
He questioned why the government had gone back on its decision to hold the Panchayat, Municipality and DDC elections.
The NC leader said that the Election Commissioner had acknowledged there is a vacuum in J&K that needs to be filled by holding elections. He claimed that the Constitution has been “suspended and the democratic rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir were under attack.”
When asked why the Democratic Progressive Azad Party led by Ghulam Nabi Azad and the Apni Party headed by Altaf Bukhari were not invited to the meeting, the veteran politician replied, “They are government parties.”
He said the government first talked of completing the delimitation process and then revising the voter list before holding elections. “Both the exercises are complete. So why are they delaying the elections how?” he asked.
CPI(M) leader M Y Tarigami, said they held a detailed discussion on the emerging situation in Jammu and Kashmir and added that problems are being faced by all sections of the society. He claimed that depriving the people of electing a government was tantamount to suspension of their constitutional and democratic rights.
He said former ministers, ex-MLAs and MPs will come together in Jammu on October 10 to defend the Constitution and the rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. “The protesters will send a message to the people of the country that they have lost hope of getting justice,” he said.
