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A group of eight former Jammu and Kashmir legislators, including three former ministers, on Tuesday called on Lieutenant Governor G C Murmu and demanded, among others, restoration of statehood, release of political detainees and withdrawal of cases against youths, besides protection of local people’s rights over land and jobs.
This was the first formal contact between mainstream opposition politicians from Kashmir and the J&K administration after special status to J&K was scrapped and the state was bifurcated into two Union Territories.
While most leaders in the delegation are from PDP, and had no representation from other mainstream parties such as NC, the Congress or People’s Conference, senior PDP leaders pointed out that their top leaders, including former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, are under detention and said the party has nothing to do with the meeting. No one in the party has a mandate to meet anyone on these issues, and any leader doing so is doing it in his individual capacity, a senior PDP leader said.
Soon after the meeting, the UT administration, in a statement, claimed the “meeting of the former legislators with the Lt Governor assumes significance as it has initiated the political process and dialogue with members of mainstream political parties” of the UT of J&K.
Appreciating their views and concerns, Murmu told the delegation that the government is committed to safeguard the rights of the people and that provisions will be made to protect land and employment avenues for local residents.
Murmu also said the administration at all levels will be sensitised to hear grievances, coordinate with popular leaders, resolve issues, and carry out development activities.
Led by former J&K minister Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari, who was last year expelled from PDP for his rebellion against the high command, the delegation included former minister Ghulam Hassan Mir, president of Democratic Party (Nationalist). The others are former minister Mohammad Dilawar Mir, Zaffar Iqbal, Javed Hassan Beig, Noor Mohammad Sheikh, Choudhary Qamar Hussain and Raja Manzoor Ahmad — all former PDP legislators.
All eight leaders are generally seen as close to New Delhi.
Bukhari said they met Murmu in their individual capacity. Qamar Hassan said the meeting was necessitated by various issues confronting the people since August 5, 2019, when special status was withdrawn. “All work has come to a halt. There is no one to raise people’s voice,” he said.
The team sought restoration of statehood, including establishment of a Legislative Council and providing reservation of seats for socially and economically backward classes, as also in Art, Culture, Languages, Literature and Sports. Statehood, they said, holds more emotional than legal importance for the people, who relate it to their “glorious past”, and a place that has been a mosaic of various religions, cultures and languages.
While noting that it is heartening that the Valley has remained peaceful, they said credit should also go to the people, who showed maturity while registering peaceful protests. But, the leaders added, most people feel “hurt (that) their decades-long privileges were unceremoniously curtailed… To win over their confidence, the Centre will have to reexamine its decades-old policies vis-à-vis Kashmir”.
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