‘Farooq, Mehbooba skip dharna’
Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, Oct 10: To launch a united struggle for what they called the restoration of democracy in J&K by holding early Assembly and other elections besides, restoration of Statehood to J&K, the united Opposition held a massive sit in protest at Maharaja Hari Singh Park on the banks of river Tawi here today.
The protestors shouting slogans demanded holding of overdue Assembly elections in the UT besides, restoration of Statehood as has been promised by the Government. However, the National Conference (NC), president and former Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah and People’s Democratic Party chief and also a former Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti did not attend the protest though Dr Abdullah had earlier during all party opposition conclave on October 3 here given the call for October 10 protest against what he called the “undemocratic policies of the present Government.”
Though Dr Abdullah had citied health grounds for not attending the today’s protest, the reasons why Mehbooba Mufti skipped it were not known. A senior leader of opposition said that Dr Abdullah was not feeling well and his doctor had advised him complete rest so he could not attend the opposition protest today.
Over one dozen main opposition parties including Congress, National Conference (NC), PDP, Left Parties (CPM, CPI), Panthers Party and Shiv Sena, besides several social organizations participated in the protest demanding early restoration of democracy in J&K. They held a massive day long sit in dharna in support of their demands.
Led by the presidents and other top leadership of respective political parties, social organizations, a more than three hours sit in dharna was held under the banner of United Opposition. Questioning the delay in holding Assembly elections and other elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the opposition accused Government of depriving the people of UT of their democratic and Constitutional rights.
A large number of prominent leaders, former Ministers, former MPs, former Legislators, functionaries of Pradesh, districts and frontal organizations and others participated in the sit in dharna, raising slogans ” Awaz Do Ham Ek Hain” for the restoration of democracy and democratic rights to the people of Jammu and Kashmir besides, highlighting the burning issues of common people and different sections of society. The issues highlighted by them included unprecedented price rise, large scale unemployment, pre-paid Smart Meters, Toll Tax, Property Tax, regularization of daily wagers, temporary employees, harassment of employees, issues of refugees, traders, transporters, farmers, students, Industries, Kashmiri migrants, grant of land rights to landless small and marginal farmers, Anganwadis/Helpers, Village Lamberdars, protection of local resources, recovery of irrigation arrears of farmers, fruit growers besides, seeking high level probe into all scams including recruitment scam etc.
The main opposition parties Congress, National Conference, PDP, Awami National Conference, Left Parties, Panthers Party, IDP, Aam Admi Party, JK People Movement, Rashtriya Janta Dal, Shiv Sena, Janta Dal United, Akali Dal-A, besides Dogra Sadar Sabha, Members of Bar Association, Bhagat Singh Committee and JK Shia Association took part in the Sit in Dharna.
Addressing the gathering, JKPCC president, Vikar Rasool Wani said that the main opposition parties have come together against the denial of the basic Constitutional and democratic rights to the people of Jammu and Kashmir by delaying and denying the holding of Assembly elections and other elections to the basic democratic institutions. For the last more than five years the elections to the Assembly were not held on one pretext or the other for the simple reason that the BJP wanted to run the Government by remote control as it fears defeat at the hustings.
The problems of people have compounded manifold and there is no one to hear the woes of suffering masses in the absence of elected representatives. He said there are multiple issues and agenda of different political parties but the common and primary objective is to seek restoration of democracy at the earliest and restoration Statehood and other rights.
National Conference senior leader, Ajay Sadhotra lashed out at the BJP and Centre Government for ignoring the urgent demand of all opposition parties for the restoration of democracy and the Constitutional rights snatched away from them in arbitrary and undemocratic manner. He said that each party has its agenda for the restoration of ever lasting peace and normalcy but the primary demand is to seek early restoration of democracy as the people are hard pressed under the bureaucratic regime.
M.Y. Targami of CPIM termed the today’s protest as a unique of its kind in which all major opposition parties and various other social organizations are unanimous on the demand for restoration of democracy the basic Constitutional right to the people of Jammu and Kashmir and to defeat the designs of communal and divisive forces by strengthening religious brotherhood and secularism. He lauded the leaderships of all participating political parties and social organizations for their historical initiative and declared that it will be carried forward unitedly and strongly.
Working president, JKPCC, Raman Bhalla lashed out at the BJP for the lot of miseries faced by the people of Jammu and Kashmir especially after the dissolving of State Assembly and the downgrading of the historical Dogra State under the bureaucratic regime. Each and every section of the society is suffering but the BJP is delaying the elections for the fear of losing the elections after the Bharat Jodo Yatra. He demanded immediate holding of Assembly election and other due elections including Urban Local Bodies and Panchayats.
Several prominent leaders of different participating political parties and social organizations strongly advocated for the restoration of democracy and other democratic and Constitutional rights to the people as Jammu and Kashmir has been denied the basic rights to vote and elect to choose their own representatives and Government for the last over five years without any justified reason . The people of different sections are facing lot of hardships on various fronts under the bureaucratic regime which wrongly claimed that 80% people do not want elections whereas all sections irrespective of their other demands and issues are unanimous for early restoration of democracy.
Gulchain Singh Charak termed the issues raised by the opposition parties genuine and said it is the concern of the people of J&K. He said the redressal of people’s problems is the first and foremost duty of the Government.
DDC Member Taranjit Singh tony said that the BJP is afraid of facing public and hence they are not holding elections in the UT while Muzafar Shah of ANC accused the Government of degrading the State and bifurcating it into two UTs.
Prominent leaders in the dharna included president, JKPCC Vikar Rasool Wani, its working president, Raman Bhalla, Ajay Sadhotra, Rattan Lal Gupta of NC, Ch. Hamid- senior vice president, PDP, Firdoss Tak (PDP), Mohd. Yousf Taragami of CPM, Sheikh Abdul Rehman (ex-MP), Harashdev Singh (Panthers Party), Gulchain Singh Charak (Dogra Sadar Sabha), Muzaffar Shah (ANC),Munish Sawhney(Shiv Sena), Rafiq Hussain and Tajinder Singh (JKPM), Raju Bargotra (AAP) , Manohar Lal Dogra(RJD), , I.D. Khajuria (IDP), Com. Hari Singh (CPM), Rakesh Sharma (CPI_), Narinder Singh Khalsa ( Akali Dal – A) (M.K. Bhardwaj (Ex-president Bar Association), Ashiq Hussain besides T.S. Bajwa (Ex-MP), Abdul Ghani Malik (Former Minister & Jagjeevan Lal, Yogesh Sawhney, Shabir Ahmed Khan (former ministers), Th. Balwan Singh, Aijaz Jan and Bimla Luthra (ex-MLAs), Sheikh Bashir Ahmed, Ravinder Sharma, Ram Paul , Master Noor Hussain (ex-MLCs), Rajnish Sharma,Vinod Sharma, Manmohan Singh, Rajinder Singh Manhas, T.S. Tony, Com. Om Prakash and others.
Meanwhile, chairman Jammu Statehood Movement, Sunil Dimple who also could not attend the protest due to his health problem, however, said his organisation is fully with opposition parties and it is for restoration of pre 1953 position and same status to J&K which it was holding during the time of accession on October 26, 1947.
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