Third anniversary of Article 370 abrogation: J&K parties slam Centre, seek rollback of move

Speaking at the protest, Mehbooba said: “August 5 (2019) is a black day for the entire country. Police have disrupted our protest. Our constitution and our flag were taken from us unconstitutionally and illegally. This has harmed not just J&K, but also the entire country.”

Cautioning the people of the country, she said: “I would like to tell you that in the coming days, BJP will erode the Constitution based on secularism and democracy. That Constitution will be replaced with a religious state. The Tiranga (Tricolour) that you hoist with pride will be replaced with a saffron flag.”

Stating that what was done in Kashmir “will be repeated across the country”, Mehbooba said: “We will take back our flag and our constitution and also continue the fight to resolve the Kashmir issue.”

Meanwhile, former J&K CM and National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah reiterated the party’s resolve to continue the struggle to challenge the abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35A.

“We will continue our peaceful struggle using all legal & constitutional means to challenge what was done to J&K on 5th Aug 2019. The road ahead may be a long one, full of twists & turns but it’s not one ⁦@JKNC_ will abandon,” Omar said on Twitter.

Sajad Lone-led People’s Conference (PC) said August 5 would always be a reminder of “the humiliation that people of J&K were subjected to three years ago”.

“Post August 5, 2019, the so called NC-PDP alliance and the BJP government at the Centre have miserably failed to keep their commitments. While former has endorsed further decline by their deceptive conduct in the political identity of J&K, the latter is continuing to disempower masses of the erstwhile state of J&K,” the PC said.

The party also highlighted “lack of political representation” in the UT over the last three years, despite assurances from the Centre. “As an eyewash, senior leaders of the government had assured the nation on the floor of the House that our rights will be restored to heal the wounds inflicted on the people of J&K. However, three years have passed, but they have failed to give us even the basic right to have a representative government.”

The PC said while the citizens of this country outside J&K enjoyed the basic right of electing their own representatives, “it is a pity that the people of J&K have been denied this very basic right in a functioning democracy”.

Meanwhile, M Y Tarigami, senior CPI(M) leader and spokesperson for the mainstream coalition formed in the aftermath of the abrogation, People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), also reiterated the resolve to work for restoration of constitutional guarantees to J&K previously enshrined in the Constitution.

“On this day in 2019, the Central Government upended the Constitution and robbed Jammu & Kashmir of what it hard achieved after a hard-fought battle by locking away thousands overnight. We reiterate our cast iron resolve to unitedly work for restoration of what was snatched from us,” he said.