Chowdry Mohammad Ramzan calls Rajya Sabha election a defining test for Jammu and Kashmir

Srinagar, Oct 17: Chowdry Mohammad Ramzan, in a statement ahead of the upcoming Rajya Sabha election, said the contest is not just another event in the political calendar but a “defining test of our collective conscience.” According to him, the election is a battle for dignity, democracy, and the rightful voice of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, which he said has been missing for a long time.

Ramzan described the election as “far more than a contest for seats,” calling it a verdict on the policies of the BJP, which he said have systematically disempowered the people of the region, dismantled its statehood, and denied its constitutional identity. He alleged that under the pretext of development, deceit was sold, and under the banner of democracy, authoritarianism was practiced.

Since 2019, he said, Jammu and Kashmir has been treated not as a partner in the Union of India, but as “an experiment ground ruled by bureaucracy, robbed of representation and stripped of dignity.” He pointed to the Assembly elections as a reflection of the people’s sentiment, describing them as a resounding rejection of divisive politics, false promises, and manufactured narratives.

Ramzan urged citizens to use the Rajya Sabha election to translate public sentiment into parliamentary strength, bringing the people’s voice back to the national forum. “This election is about reclaiming what was taken—our statehood, our dignity, our special status, our rights, and our place in the democratic fabric of India,” he said, adding that Jammu and Kashmir will be remembered “not for silence, but for resilience.”

He emphasized that democracy should be about dialogue, not domination, and called upon all democratic and secular forces to unite, setting aside political differences to defend the principles and “the very soul of India’s democracy.” He described the struggle as a “moral movement for collective survival,” stating that it is “not about positions in the Rajya Sabha, but about the position of Jammu and Kashmir within the soul of the Indian Republic.”