Taking a dig at the Narendra Modi-led government, CPI(M) senior leader from Kashmir Yousuf Tarigami asked the government to notify entire Jammu and Kashmir as a jail so that it no longer has to convert hotels and guest houses as jail to accommodate the ever-growing list of political prisoners.

He was speaking at a press conference at the CPI(M) headquarters in Delhi on Wednesday.

“The government should notify Jammu and Kashmir as a central jail. Then they do not have to invoke the Public Safety Act [PSA] or force us to stay inside our homes or convert guest houses and hotels into detention centres.” He said the government is taking delegations to Kashmir, but they have no place to put them up as guest houses are full of political detenus.

Asked why Jammu and Kashmir despite six months of clampdown has not seen a public outcry or a Shaheen Bagh kind of protest, both Mr. Tarigami and party general secretary Sitaram Yechury said, “Jammu and Kashmir cannot have a Shaheen Bagh for similar reasons as there cannot be a Shaheen Bagh in Tihar jail”.

Slamming the government for invoking the draconian PSA against two former Chief Ministers — Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, Mr. Tarigami said the government has shown it’s moral bankruptcy. “The government will repent what it did to J&K. I am also saying all those people who clapped at the insult of Kashmir on August 5, where the entire community of Kashmir was humiliated, will repent it,” Mr. Tarigami said.

Both leaders questioned the government’s claims of normalcy since it has so far been unable to hold elections for the legislature. Mr. Yechury said in the absence of an elected government, the allotment of land for various projects is legally questionable.

Mr. Yechury also said the delegations from Jammu and Ladhak regions meeting him were concerned about their rights that they enjoyed in the past and under Article 35 A.

“Till the time the Supreme Court does not decide on the petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 and 35 A, the Jammu and Kashmir administration should not take decisions like giving government land to individuals and trusts from different States. Such decisions cannot be legally sustainable,” he said.

Welcoming the AAP’s victory in the Delhi Assembly elections, Mr. Tarigami said the people of the national capital have shown some light in the “regime of darkness”. “We have no trust in the government, but we trust the wisdom of the people of this country who have expressed it time and again. What happened yesterday in Delhi gives us hope. The victory is the light in this regime of darkness,” he said congratulating the people of Delhi.