New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir stayed with India because Mahatma Gandhi said it was a country for all, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah said on Thursday as he, joined by several other opposition leaders, demanded early holding of assembly elections in the Union territory.
At an event held in the national capital on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the veteran leader stressed that Article 370 was a temporary article because a plebiscite was supposed to happen in Jammu and Kashmir but was never held.
The event was attended by Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, former Jammu and Kashmir MLA M Y Tarigami, Kargil politician Sajjad Hussain Kargili, DMK MP Kanimozhi, NCP’s Supriya Sule, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and RJD MP Manoj Jha, who endorsed the demand for polls to be held at the earliest.
The last assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir were held in November-December 2014, when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Peoples Democratic Party formed a government together. The alliance fell apart in June 2018 and President’s rule was imposed.
Subsequently in August 2019, the Centre abrogated provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution, which accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated the state into Union territories — Jammu and Kashmir (with a legislature) and Ladakh.
Abdullah said, “The tragedy of Jammu and Kashmir is that from the time India got independence and two dominions were created, (Pakistan’s founder M A) Jinnah thought Kashmir was in his pocket. He didn’t realise it was not….”
“Many say Article 370 was a temporary thing…. You must realise it was so because a plebiscite had to decide which dominion we had to go to,” the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir said.
“You have to realise a Muslim majority state decided to remain in a Hindu majority India. We could have gone to Pakistan, what brought us here was Gandhi and his utterance that this nation is for all,” he said, adding that communal division is on the rise in the country.
“Kashmir never asked for independence, we are part of this nation,” he said, adding that it has been in turmoil since independence.
Abdullah also said there was a trust deficit with the government.
Addressing the gathering, Yechury said what is happening in Jammu and Kashmir is not only a humanitarian issue but destruction of the India that was created after independence.
“Equality is being assaulted today. You can see what is happening in Manipur,” he said, referring to the ethnic violence in the northeastern state.
Referring to the government’s claims about normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir, Yechury questioned why then elections were still not being held there.
“This must be treated as abnormal…elections should be held in J&K immediately,” he said.
Former MLA Tarigami said the Union government took credit for holding panchayat elections after the abrogation of Article 370, but it is not holding polls for electing an assembly even though the delimitation exercise is over.
Ladakh politician Sajjad Hussain Kargili highlighted the series of protests going on in Ladakh, which became a Union territory without legislature, and asked how the Centre can take away statehood from any state.
Extending his support to the demand for elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said it is shameful that elections have not been held there yet. He also stressed on the need for humanitarian approach in search-and-cordon operations, and raised concern over the increase in the number of deaths of security personnel.
RJD MP Manoj Jha referred to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and called it a party which is known for “burning bridges”, not building them.
“It’s not only about Kashmir. They are using it as fodder in north Indian politics. Unless that fodder is challenged it will be difficult,” he said.
Sule and Kanimozhi mentioned the communal violence in Haryana and the situation in Manipur, and said the situation is worrisome. They extended support to the demand for early conduct of assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
A report, titled “Five Years Without an Elected Administration: Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir, August 2022 July 2023” and prepared by The Forum for Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir, was released at the event.
The group, which calls itself an informal group of concerned citizens, raised concern over elections not being held in the Union territory.
The forum is chaired by former Union home secretary Gopal Pillai and former member of the Group of Interlocutors for Jammu and Kashmir Radha Kumar. Former foreign secretary Nirupama Rao, writer and historian Ramachandra Guha, former NCPCR chairperson Shantha Sinha, former Supreme Court judge Ruma Pal are among its members.
The report stated that 71 CRPF troops were killed between 2019-2022, while between 2014-2018, 35 of them died. By comparison, in the four years between 2012-2015, 27 CRPF troops were killed.
The report demanded that assembly polls be held immediately. It also requested the government to put on hold the reservation bills that have been brought until the Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of the August 2019 Presidential orders, the reorganisation act and the measures taken under it.
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