Tarigami calls for political unity to defend people’s rights

Kulgam, Aug 3: Senior CPI ( M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami on Saturday appealed all political parties to unite in the fight for the rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

He emphasised the need for raising a collective voice to restore and protect the democratic rights of people. "Tomorrow what will be the status and powers of the cabinet. All the political leaders regardless of their party affiliations should think over it,” the CPI(M) leader told reporters at Laroo village of Kulgam district.

Tarigami said that CPI(M) had appealed to the parliament members of the left parties to raise their voice in parliament about the injustice meted to the people of Kashmir on August 5, 2019 by snatching their special constitutional position. He said that the current situation was deeply disturbing for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. “Whatever was told on August 5, 2019 and after is diametrically different from what we have been witnessing”, he said. He said that there was a stark difference between what was said and what was done.

Criticising the Jammu and Kashmir budget, Tarigami said, “Budget offers nothing for the unemployed youth of Jammu and Kashmir or for our apple growers who have been grappling with losses for the last many years”. He said that the growing inflation had made ordinary people struggle to make ends meet and cope with rising living costs.

Drawing attention towards the arrests, Tarigami said that not only in Kulgam but in other places too, there had been widespread detentions of individuals, raising concerns about civil liberties and human rights. “There are parents here whose children are languishing in various jails within and outside Jammu and Kashmir,” he said. Tarigami added that, on the other hand, the government continued to claim normalcy. “It is the normalcy of a graveyard and the people of J&K, and Ladakh do not need such normalcy,” he said.

Earlier, while addressing a workers convention, Tarigmai said that it was a welcome step if the Jamaat-e-Islami was participating in a democratic process. Prominent among others who addressed the workers included Mohamad Abbas Parray, Zahoor Ahmad Rather and Mohamamd Abbas Rather.