Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Aug 23: Former Union minister veteran Congress leader Prof Saifuddin Soz has said that political leaders like Altaf Bukhari and Sajad Lone should fall in line with Peoples’ Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) in public interest.
“We have fallen to very difficult times in our history. The Central Government has turned totally hostile to our sacred cause i.e. our cherished goal of safeguarding our internal autonomy. We had acceded to a democratic India on this basic condition that we shall stay autonomous on matters of education, culture, heritage, our linguistic pursuits etc. The recently abrogated Article 370 was integral to that proposition. The people of J&K have suffered a great shock through the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution of India,” Soz said in a statement here.
“While our democratic struggle for restoration of Article 370 will continue, we must resolutely struggle for thwarting the designs of the Centre to change the demographic profile of J&K State. Such a move would not serve any purpose for the Union of India. Our suspicions regarding the Centre’s plan to change the demographic profile of the J&K have become clear when the Chief Electoral Officer, Hirdesh Kumar Singh said recently, “After the abrogation of Article 370, many people who were not enlisted as voters in the erstwhile state of J&K are now eligible to vote and in addition, anyone who is living ordinarily can also avail the opportunity to get enlisted as a voter in J&K in accordance with the provisions of Representation of the Peoples Act.”
Soz claimed that the Centre was misreading the provision of the Representation of People’s Act. During this difficult times, the Kashmiri leaders like Altaf Bukhari and Sajad Lone must come with the PAGD, Soz pleaded.
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