RELEASE THREE EX-CMS, ALL J&K POLITICAL DETAINEES: OPPN

NEW DELHI/SRINAGAR: A section of the Opposition called for the release of former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti in a joint statement on Monday, saying their indefinite detention by the government was a “blatant violation” of fundamental rights. The statement issued by eight leaders also demanded the release of all other “political detainees” in J&K, where hundreds of local leaders and activists were put under house arrest hours before the Centre nullified Article 370 on August 5.

› Under these circumstances, parties committed to safeguarding the fundamental rights... and securing the sanctity of the Constitution, cannot sit quiet.

STATEMENT ISSUED BY THE OFFICE OF NCP CHIEF SHARAD PAWAR

NEW DELHI/SRINAGAR: A section of the Opposition called for the release of former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti in a joint statement on Monday, saying their indefinite detention by the government was a “blatant violation” of fundamental rights.

The statement issued by eight leaders also demanded the release of all other “political detainees” in J&K, where hundreds of local leaders and activists were put under house arrest hours before the Centre nullified Article 370 on August 5 and withdrew the erstwhile state’s special status. The opposition leaders further alleged that curbs imposed the region in August were an attack on the constitutionally assured “rights and dignity of millions of our sisters and brothers in Kashmir”.

“Under these circumstances, political parties committed to safeguarding the fundamental rights of the citizens and securing the sanctity of the Constitution, cannot sit quiet,” the statement issued by the office of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar said.

Others undersigned in the statement were West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress president Mamata Banerjee; former prime minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Deve Gowda; Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury; Communist Party of India genmum

eral secretary D Raja; and Rashtriya Janata Dal Rajya Sabha member Manoj Kumar Jha. The statement also included the names of two former ministers in the AB Vajpayee government, Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie, who are known to be vocal critics of the present BJP government. The eight leaders accused the BJP government at the Centre of muzzling democratic dissent by coercive administrative action, launching assaults on fundamental rights, and blocking the avenues of raising critical voices. “Nothing exemplifies this more starkly than the continuing detention, on flimsiest of grounds, of three former CMs of J&K— Dr Farooq Abdullah, Shri Omar Abdullah and Smt Mehbooba Mufti — for over seven months,” statement said.

National Conference leaders Farooq, 82, and his son, Omar, 49, and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s Mehbooba, 60, have been booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA), which allows their detention without trial for a miniperiod of three months and maximum of two years. While the administration has cited Omar’s ability “garner votes even during the peak of militancy and poll boycotts” in support of his detention, Mehbooba has been charged with making remarks challenging the accession of J&K to India in case Article 370 was abrogated. Farooq is accused of creating an environment of public disorder.

But the opposition leaders said there was nothing in the “past records” that back the government’s claim that the three former CMs pose a threat to public safety. They pointed out that the BJP itself allied with their parties both at the Centre (NC; 2001-2003) and in the erstwhile state (PDP; 2014-2018).

The government says the decision to detain leaders in the militancy-hit state has been taken in view of the security, and locallevel administration assesses the situation from time to time and takes appropriate action. The government has released over 50 mainstream politicians.

The government recently organised “well-choreographed” visits of foreign diplomats to Srinagar to show the world that the situation is “normal”, the statement by the Opposition said, apparently referring to the February visit by the envoys of 11 European Union (EU) states.

The BJP’s J&K spokesperson, Altaf Thakur, said the detained leaders, including the former CMs, posed threat to national integrity. “They were responsible for the mess J&K,” he said, accusing the leaders of giving “irresponsible statements” .