Aug 5 decisions unacceptable: Farooq
Jammu Tawi, Aug 5: The BJP on Thursday (August 5) celebrated the second anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A by holding Tiranga rallies and hoisting the national flag across Jammu and Kashmir. On the other hand, the PDP called it ‘a day of mourning for J&K’ and took out protest marches. Romasia Rafiq, the BJP’s Municipal Councillor from Anantnag district’s Khanabal, kicked off the party’s celebrations in the valley by hoisting the Tricolour near the Degree College at Khanabal. She was accompanied by around 200 party workers.
Bandipora BJP district chief Abdul Rehman Tikri was joined by a dozen party workers as he hoisted the national flag at the party office. Block Development Council (BDC) member Sushma Nehru along with 20 other people hoisted the national flag at Panzulla Panchayat Ghar in Baramulla district. BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh, who is also the party affairs in-charge for the union territories of J&K and Ladakh, said one of the more significant achievements of the 2019 decision was that it dealt a big blow to the divisive and terrorist forces.
National Conference Party President, and Member of Parliament Dr Farooq Abdullah on Thursday reiterated the party’s position on the unilateral, unconstitutional and undemocratic decisions taken on August 5, 2019 will never change and that the party will keep up with its struggle for the restoration of J&K people’s abridged constitutional and democratic rights.
Dr Farooq said this while addressing a meeting of party functionaries, here at party headquarters Nawa e Subha, Srinagar. He termed the august 5 decisions as a lethal assault on the country’s secular visage, its pluralistic and asymmetrical federalism and violation of sovereign promises made by the country to the People of Jammu , Kashmir and Ladakh.
He said the abrogation of Articles 370, 35-A, downgrading of J&K into two UTs are few milestones for which the people of J&K would never forgive the present government.
Those who spoke on the occasion termed the August 5, 2019 decisions of the incumbent ruling dispensation in New Delhi as a catastrophic event in the recent history of Jammu and Kashmir that gave a death knell to the vital democratic, political, constitutional, cultural, economic interests of the people of Jammu, Kashmir and ladakh.
“In the run up for abrogation on the fateful day of august 5, 2019, it was said that the rationale behind the decisions was to facilitate the integration and bring about better administration. Two years have passed since, not a single promise has materialized on ground. The decisions have only managed to suspend democracy in the state, and put all the crucial institutions on death bed. As against facilitating the integration and bringing the region at par with other states, as was promised, the GOI has inversely been thrusting custom made top bottom decisions on the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Post unilateral abrogation of its status, the region has been put on much lower pedestal than other constituent units of the union,” the functionaries said.
The functionaries said that the decisions have come with a steep cost to the people of Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh in the shape of a collapsed economy, growing administrative inertia, and development deficit as well. “A choked atmosphere has been created in J&K. The idea of peace still remains elusive. BJP’s drum-beating has not helped it gloss over the fall out of its imprudent decisions. Huge barriers have been placed aimed to deny political space to voices of dissent be it political or from the media fraternity. The employees and youth have been pushed to the wall by New Delhi without any hesitation. The successive executive orders post abrogation in the shape of issuance of domicile certificates, curbs on media, intimidation of government employees, discriminatory rules on employment are some of the top-down authoritarian diktats that have been pushed down the throats of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” they said.
Meanwhile, Members of Parliament Hasnain Masoodi and Mohammad Akbar Lone held a protest outside the Parliament House near Mahatma Gandhi statue and demanded the restoration of Article 370 and Article 35 A.
Both the MPs kept standing in front of the Mahatma Gandhi Statue inside the Parliament holding the placards which read “REVOKE 5th August 2019 Unconstitutional Decisions” and “RESTORE SPECIAL STATUS OF JAMMU & KASHMIR”.
In Srinagar, wearing black bands, scores of PDP leaders and activists, led by party president Mehbooba Mufti, took out a protest march from the party’s head office near the Sher-e-Kashmir Park. They shouted slogans against the Centre’s August 5, 2019 decisions and in favour of a “resolution of the Kashmir issue”. The protesters were, however, stopped by police near GPO and turned back.
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said, “Today is a day of mourning for J-K. It is unfortunate that the BJP is celebrating across the country, while Kashmir is mourning. The existence of the people of J-K will remain only when we all will together restore our constitutional position and then resolve the Kashmir issue by forcing the Government of India to talk to the people of J-K to address the internal dimension and talk with Pakistan as well to address the external dimension.”
“There is no other option. They are already talking to Pakistan resulting in the ceasefire which in turn resulted in decline in infiltration,” she said.
Mehbooba said her party is of the view that Jammu and Kashmir has to become a bridge of peace between India and Pakistan. She said the BJP will have to take back the decisions taken on August 5, 2019.
