Kerala MLA Jaleel calls PoK ‘Azad Kashmir’; comment against India’s sovereignty, says BJP
MLA K T Jaleel made the observation on PoK in a Facebook post after a recent visit to Srinagar. He also criticised the Union government's decision to take away the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.
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K T Jaleel. (File)CPM-backed Independent MLA and former Kerala minister K T Jaleel on Friday courted a controversy calling Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) “Azad Kashmir”. Jaleel, who represents the Thavanur assembly seat in Malappuram district, made the observation on PoK in a Facebook post after a recent visit to Srinagar.
“The part of Kashmir annexed to Pakistan was known as ‘Azad Kashmir’. It was an area not directly influenced by the Pakistani government. Pakistan only controlled currency and military aid. Azad Kashmir had its own army. The unified army became the common army of Azad Kashmir during Zia ul Haq’s presidency,’’ he wrote in a post in Malayalam, while detailing about Kashmir.
Regarding Jammu and Kashmir, Jaleel said “India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, which comprises Jammu, Kashmir valley and Ladakh”.
Jaleel also criticised the Union government’s decision to take away the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. “During the partition, Kashmir was divided into two. Both Kashmirs were given the right of self-determination by the British. Sheikh Abdullah and his beloved countrymen sided with India. Pandit Nehru gave them special status as a reward for that. People are saddened that the special status was taken away without their consent. Has Article 370 of the Constitution enabled Kashmiris to achieve the expected material benefits?’’ he asked.
Jaleel said Kashmir’s face was not bright enough. “Gun-toting soldiers everywhere. Policemen also have guns slung over their shoulders. Olive green (of the Army) is the colour of Kashmir for decades. Armed soldiers can be seen every hundred metres along…there was sadness on the faces of the common people. It seems that Kashmiris have forgotten to laugh. Army trucks and military presence seem to be a part of daily life for Kashmiris,” he wrote.
“All political leaders are under house arrest. Political activity has stopped for months. There is a kind of indifference lurking everywhere. Anger can be read from the faces of people against the Modi government, which had cut Kashmir into three. There is a feeling of alienation in the Kashmiri heart. The Central government should make systematic efforts to change it,’’ Jaleel added in the post.
Meanwhile, Kerala BJP president K Surendran said Jaleel’s comments are against the sovereignty of India. “He has no right to continue as a legislator for a moment. His comment on PoK as Azad Kashmir is against the country’s sovereignty. He should be booked for sedition. His Facebook post had distorted the Kashmir history and depicted the uniformed forces in poor light. At the same time, we can expect only such an anti-India stand from a former SIMI (Students’ Islamic Movement of India) leader,” said Surendran.
Jaleel, who had started his political life as an activist of SIMI, later became a firebrand leader of Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). In 2006, he quit the IUML and joined hands with the CPM. Since then, he has been a CPM-backed legislator and during the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) regime, he served as the higher education minister. Towards the fag end of the term, he was forced to quit after Lokayukta found charges of nepotism against him.
Jaleel’s name had figured in the sensational gold-smuggling case which emerged during the previous LDF regime. Central agencies, including National Investigation Agency (NIA), had questioned him in connection with the case and found that he had violated protocol on several occasions.
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