Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Feb 28: Stating that rescinding J&K of its status is part of incremental assaults by ruling BJP on country’s democratic, federal and secular visage, National Conference has said that any delay in restoring people’s abridged constitutional rights will imperil country’s federal structure and diversity.
In a statement, Party’s Additional General Secretary Dr Sheikh Mustafa Kamal said no longer constrained by due respect for the country’s celebrated diversity, the BJP, ever since it has come to power has bulldozed the country democratic and secular visage which has cost the country internationally and nationally.
He said that the spiteful decisions taken by the ruling dispensation at New Delhi have not fared well in any region of Jammu and Kashmir. “Unconstitutional nullification of Articles 370, 35-A is part of bigger agenda of BJP to make the country homogeneous and rob it of its prized diversity and socio-cultural plurality. The BJP was supplanting its own agenda as the agenda of the country. The promised development to J&K has met the same fate as that of the promised ‘Ache Din’ to the country. People across J&K and Ladakh like their co-countrymen have understood the heinous mission of BJP to weaken the country’s secular and pluralistic fabric,” he added.
On the ongoing situation in Jammu and Kashmir, Kamal said that the people of J&K made it clear to the ruling BJP that there could be no trade off between their political aspirations and development. “Throttling democracy, doing away with an empowered legislature and caging of political leaders has put the very supreme interests of the country at stake. The political void that has been created cannot be filled by having local body elections. In reality what is at stake is the definition of democracy. Genuine democracy requires that the people of Jammu and Kashmir be granted institutional protection to protect their voices from being swamped. It was the wide-ranging constitutional guarantees under Art 370, 35-A that ensured it, he said.
He said unless the political aspirations of the people of J&K are not addressed, the so-called development activity, if there was any, wouldn’t yield anticipated results. “People have revealed their detestation for August 5, 2019 measures democratically in recently concluded DDC polls, now it is for New Delhi to reciprocate and relate to their mandate,” he added.
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