The CPI(M) has asserted that the Left parties would continue their fight against abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of J&K into two Union territories – Jammu and Kashmir, which will have a legislature, and Ladakh, which will be without a legislature. Addressing the media here on Thursday, its Polit Bureau member Niloptal Basu said the government claims the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of J&K would help integrate India.
But India cannot be integrated without political dialogue and understanding. The Central government, however, chose to subvert the State, which was being divided.
It was done secretively by the ruling BJP, he alleged.
The government purposefully did not conduct elections for the J&K Assembly though the ECI had suggested conducting them after the general elections. The J&K Assembly would have to be consulted before scrapping the Article. To avoid it, the elections were not conducted, he alleged.
“We have heard about States being divided to create new States with new powers, that also after years of dialogue.” Chattisgarh, Jharkhand and Telangana fall in that category,” he said, adding, “surprisingly, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the YSR Congress Party which have been fighting for the Special Category Status (SCS), have extended their support.”
‘Assault on democracy’
Expressing concern over how Parliament was kept out of the loop by the government in making the decision to abrogate Article 370, he said that it was an assault on the democracy and the Constitution. It was nothing short of depriving the powers of a full State. The people were not rejoicing as the government claims. If it were to be true, why the government clamped down on the State and snapped all means of communication, he asked.
CPI(M) State secretariat member Venkateswara Rao was present.