Srinagar: (CNI) Senior CPI(M) leader in Jammu and Kashmir MY Tarigami on Tuesday accused the BJP of resorting to dictatorship and said that his party is trying to consolidate votes and will not contest the Lok Sabha seats in the Union Territories to get rid of tyrants”
He tried to downplay the alleged tussle within the People’s Alliance for Gapkar Declaration (PAGD) constituencies over seat allocation for the Lok Sabha elections, saying it was not an electoral alliance and each constituency had its own political interests.
“We will not fight (Lok Sabha elections in J&K) directly. Our political approach today is to defeat the BJP, stop them from forming the government. They have already done a lot of damage to J&K.” ,” Tarigami told PTI-Video in an exclusive interview here.
“We also appeal to other political parties to ensure that votes are not split. We hope that we will get rid of the oppressors soon.”
Asked about the news of a merger between the Ghulam Nabi Azad-led Democratic Progressive Azad Party, Altaf Bukhari’s own party and the Sajjad Lone-led People’s Conference, Tarigami questioned the move and said, “We need the support of our people.” Should have been loyal.” “They are forming a great coalition together. Against whom? I would have welcomed it if the purpose of this coalition was to highlight the real concerns of the people like our statehood and our land rights. There is no precedent for this in the history of Kashmir.
“Differences aside, we should have at least been loyal to our people. It should have been a fight for people’s rights,” the CPI(M) leader said.
He said that it is unfortunate that Jammu and Kashmir has always been a victim of shelling and there is restlessness among the people here.
Pakistan has been making its own claims and our country India is making its own claims. Anxiety is spreading among the people. Successive governments have also not been loyal to the Kashmiri people.
“Today’s government has left no stone unturned to demolish the basis of the pact between the Center and the people. We have always been deprived of our constitutional rights. They (BJP) also scrapped Article 370,” Tarigami said.
The CPI(M) leader said, “If the BJP had a clear road map, they would not have resorted to dictatorship. He made Jammu and Kashmir a Union Territory. See the plight of government employees here.
They are not even allowed to protest… Do you think people will support BJP? Tarigami, who is also PAGD spokesperson, said it is not an electoral alliance and each constituency has its own political interests.
The PAGD is an alliance of five political parties – National Conference, PDP, CPI(M), Awami National Conference and CPI – demanding the restoration of special status to Jammu and Kashmir, which was enacted in 2019. 370 was repealed with repeal.
“Despite the differences, the DDC (District Development Council) elections were fought together Jammu and Kashmir had its own constitution but now it has lapsed. Our flag is gone, our land rights are gone, our permanent residency rights are gone the state also ended.
Jammu and Kashmir is the only place where assembly elections have not been held in the last 10 years. The state was divided without considering the aspirations of the people. All the statements made by the constituents do not change the very idea of PAGD. It will always be relevant,” he said.
Tarigami said that there are differences among BJP leaders as well.
Calling electoral bonds a “huge scam”, he targeted the BJP and said, “If you want to do corruption, don’t do it in the name of law. We (CPI-M) have done a Didn’t even take money (through electoral bonds). “In fact, we were the first to file a petition against electoral bonds in the Supreme Court. People should not take much time to understand what is happening in the country these days,” he said.
On the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Jharkhand chief Hemant Soren in various corruption cases, Tarigami said, “Constitution is under attack. Democracy is under attack. If you want to weaken or break a party, D and CBI are there. These agencies do essential work for the government. If someone is corrupt, he joins the BJP. When asked about Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent statement that the central government in Jammu And would consider revoking the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Kashmir, he said, saying the current government was “only relying on ‘jumla’ (false promises)”.
“Shah had said that first there will be delimitation, then elections and then statehood. What happened on this date? If the environment (in Jammu and Kashmir) is possible for Lok Sabha elections, why not for Assembly elections? You may know about Pathrable, Mitchell and Shopian (mock) competitions. We all condemned the immunity given to the forces. We do not need these strict rules in a democratic setup,” he added. (CNI)
