Chennai: Opposition parties in Tamilnadu led by DMK on Saturday urged the Centre to put on hold the Kashmir reorganisation Act and demanded sending an all-party delegation to that State to invite public opinion on Article 370 which gives such a status.
DMK president M K Stalin convened a meeting of his party allies, including Congress, Left and the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. A resolution adopted at the meeting ‘A new law for Kashmir be put on hold,’ apparently referring to the reorganisation Act, said while many issues including those concerning farmers and labourers were unsolved, the BJP-led NDA had gone ahead by scrapping Article 370.
People had voted for a successive term of the government expecting solution to various problems but were only disappointed, it said. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government second term has already run aground,” it said.
The resolution said the ‘sudden changes’ in Kashmir were done after imposing Governor’s rule and they include placing leaders under house arrest and blocking communication. The resolution alleged this move was unjustifiable and charged the government with misusing people’s mandate to implement such an initiative.
Article 370 had been given to Jammu and Kashmir after much deliberation by late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, among others, the resolution said. “Scrapping this special power amounts to murder of democracy and betrayal of people of Kashmir and an attack on the Constitution,” the resolution said.
It alleged that Centre’s move amounted to shaking the very base of Indian democracy. “People will not tolerate one party’s authoritarian attack on the world’s biggest democracy,” it said, adding that all parties should unite in this hour of ‘crisis’.
“The Central government should immediately send a delegation of all parties which have representation in Parliament to Kashmir and hold discussion with the people and reveal the truth to the people of the country,” it said. Also, the resolution sought the release of the former Chief Minister and other leaders.