Legislators turned assembly into ‘a hall of shame’, says Er Rasheed
Srinagar: Stating that the legislators have turned the state assembly into ‘a hall of shame’, Awami Itehaad Party (AIP) president and MLA Langate, Engineer Abdul Rasheed Sheikh on Tuesday termed Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) ‘a dirty book’.
Addressing a presser here at his Jawahar Nagar residence after being placed under house detention, Er Rasheed questioned Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti that ‘why the Army personnel involved in the killing of Shopian youth were not arrested’.
“Registering an FIR is not a big deal. There are dozens of FIR’s pending against army in Kashmir. Mehbooba begged before Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Home Minister Rajnath Singh for filing an FIR against army. After begging before New Delhi, Mehbooba next day proudly said that ‘we are filing an FIR’ against the army men,” he said while criticizing Mehbooba over her decision of just filing an FIR against the army Army.
Condemning the statement of Omar Abdullah, he said, “I was scheduled to lead a protest march against the CM and Omar’s statement. The way they were talking in Assembly yesterday seems like they were deciding who will be the next CM in the state. I condemn Omar for terming the stone pelters as unsuccessful lovers. The assembly was a holy house but it has been turned in to a ‘hall of shame’ by the legislators,” he said.
He said that the legislators from all the political parties forced him to boycott the assembly session.
“I continued to raise my voice for the people of Kashmir but the legislators from all the parties in unison forced me to boycott the rest of the assembly session,” he said.
Describing the AFPSA as a ‘dirty book’, Er Rasheed alleged that the Chief Minister was “destroying self-respect of Kashmiris under this dirty book.”
Questioning the government for placing him under house detention, Er Rasheed said that people have every right to stage protest ‘Dharna’ outside PM or CM’s residence but in Kashmir people are being disallowed to raise their voice even at separate places.
“This morning, police party from Raj Bagh police station visited my house and told me that I can’t move out of my house today as I have been placed under house detention,” he said, adding that he won’t succumb to any kind of pressure.
Meanwhile, in a statement issued here, the AIP president lashed out at the state government for using every ‘immoral, illegal and brutal’ measure to suppress the voice of people of the state.
He asked Mehbooba Mufti to step down if she cannot protect the life and honor of people.
“While the local populace from both the communities were united to condemn the Kathua incident, unfortunately MLA Hiranagar Deepak Sharma and MLA Samba DK Malyal visited the village Rasana later in the evening and held deliberations with people of one particular community and things changed all of a sudden. SHO concerned was forced to reveal that the accused arrested is a juvenile,” he said.
“There can be nothing shameful than the fact that Asifa was not allowed to be buried in a graveyard at ‘Kota Mode’ where the local Muslims had purchased the land for the graveyard and nearly one dozen graves already existed there. The bereaved family was forced to bury the dead body at Bandi some 7 kilometers away from her native place,” he said, adding that “not only that real culprits are roaming free, but one Deepak Sharma working as SPO at Hiranagar police station is wreaking havoc in entire Muslim population and has got shamelessly full patronage of the local administration. Even the water supply of the population has been cut off.”
“While whole India stood with Nirbhaya but not even a single voice comes in support of Asifa, thus proving yet again that neither Indian media nor Indian Civil society gives even a damn to what happens in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Meanwhile, a deputation of AIP including District president Kulgam, Dr Abdul Bari Nayak and District President Shopian Haji Mohammad Yousuf visited the families of slain youth in Shopian and offered condolences with the bereaved families.
KV Correspondent
