Our leaders were barred from moving out of homes: PDP
Says could not hold important meet
Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Thursday did not allow several People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leaders to leave their homes for attending a party meeting here, its spokesman said.
“PDP general secretary Ghulam Nabi Lone Hanjura had convened a meeting of PDP leaders Thursday but the authorities did not allow the leaders who are still under illegal detention to leave their homes,” party spokesman Suhail Bukhari said.
He said this has exposed the hollow claims that political leaders were free people in the union territory.
“The lies have been exposed. This proves that they have lied before institutions like the Supreme Court on India,” he added.
Meanwhile, CPIM leader M Y Tarigami condemned the police action to disallow PDP leaders from moving out of their houses for the party meeting.
“It has once again exposed the hollow claims of the BJP government about normalcy in Kashmir,” he said.
“It is highly astonishing that the BJP government is even afraid of allowing a political party to hold a meeting. For more than one year, the BJP government has been lying about normalcy in Kashmir. If that is the case (that there is normalcy), then why were senior leaders of a political party placed under house arrest and not allowed to meet?” he asked.
“The fact is that the only thing the revocation of Article 370 has achieved so far is a complete abrogation of democracy in J&K and an unconscionable suppression of civil and democratic rights,” he added.
Tarigami said the government must release all party leaders, including PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, without any further delay.
Later, the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) senior leader Mohammad Dilawar Mir also denounced the curbs imposed on a proposed meeting that was scheduled to be held by PDP at Srinagar.
In a statement issued here, Mir termed the police action wherein the PDP leaders were reportedly not allowed to venture out from their homes to attend the planned meeting at PDP office as highly condemnable and undemocratic.
“Restricting the movement of PDP leaders who are otherwise free as per the government affidavit submitted in the Court, is totally illegal and against democratic spirit of this country. JKAP censures this police action and calls for an immediate end to such illegal and unwanted restrictions on political leaders in JK,” Mir demanded.
The JKAP leader observed that putting restrictions on the movement of political leaders and workers and foiling political meetings is fraught with serious implications. “Rather than imposing autocratic decisions the government should facilitate an early resumption of the political process in J&K which has already received a huge dent since last year,” Mir remarked.
He reiterated the JKAP’s demand of an immediate release of political detainees including the PDP president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti. (with PTI inputs)
KV News
