New Delhi, Jul 23 (PTI) Opposition leaders on Wednesday voiced support to Jammu and Kashmir’s demand for statehood, with Congress leader Naseer Hussain saying they want a debate on the issue in the ongoing Monsoon session of Parliament.
Hussain also asserted that there is a consensus on the issue among all the constituents of the INDIA opposition bloc.
Speaking at a public meeting organised here by The Forum for Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir, Hussain said they want to raise the issue of statehood in the Monsoon session.
“We will raise this issue in Parliament. There is a consensus among all INDIA bloc parties,” he said.
The Congress leader said a debate on the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor is likely to take place next week, after which a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar would be taken up and then the issue of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir might come up for deliberations.
While supporting Jammu and Kashmir’s demand for statehood, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya warned that this “model” might be implemented in other parts of the country as well.
“We feel Kashmir is a model, a pamphlet, which will be implemented in the entire country,” he said.
“People are not realising now, but what if Seemanchal is made a separate territory? Or north Bengal? A template is already there. It is not just about Kashmir but entire India,” Bhattacharya added.
He also slammed the BJP-led Centre over its foreign policy and wondered that when India has not condemned Israel’s attack on Gaza, how can it expect the world to stand with it in condemning the Pahalgam attack.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha said, “Jammu and Kashmir was always an ‘other’ for Delhi because the psychological make up of Delhi is shaped by the politics of north India. The debate (in Parliament) on the abrogation (of Article 370 of the Constitution) was directed towards the audience of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.” “I was vilified by our lovely television channels for saying do not create a space for your own Palestine in India. I am still of the view that if you deny people their due, you cannot address their resentment,” he said.
CPI(M) leader Nilotpal Basu said there is a need to fight for the Constitution.
“We will have to fight for democracy in our country and this fight for democracy will be an acid test for Jammu and Kashmir. I do not believe that this is a question of Jammu and Kashmir. This is actually a question of the Constitution of our country. This is a question of the democracy of our country and now, we are seeing the classic playbook of Hindutva,” he said. PTI AO RC
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