SRINAGAR: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has reiterated its demand for the restoration of Article 370 and statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, calling the abrogation of the special status in August 2019 an unconstitutional act that undermined the federal structure of India. Speaking at the party’s 13th State Conference in Jammu, senior CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat criticised the Modi government for dismantling the historic state and bifurcating it into two Union Territories. He asserted that the move was a betrayal of the assurances given to the people of Jammu and Kashmir at the time of India’s independence.
Karat described the revocation of Article 370 as a direct assault on the Constitution and said that CPI(M) had opposed the move by organising protests across the country. He urged secular and democratic forces to unite in the fight for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.
Senior CPI(M) leader MY Tarigami also condemned the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A, calling it a brazen attack on the constitutional rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. He pointed out that the special provisions granted under Article 35-A had their origins in notifications issued by Maharaja Hari Singh in 1927 and 1932 to safeguard the rights of the people over land and employment. The BJP government’s decision to revoke these provisions, he said, was an affront to the aspirations of the people of the region.
Tarigami also highlighted the growing unemployment crisis in Jammu and Kashmir and called for urgent measures to address the issue. He demanded the release of political prisoners and journalists, as well as the rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants.
The conference concluded with the adoption of resolutions on democratic rights, civil liberties, unemployment, land laws, trade union rights, and other key issues. The newly elected 23-member state committee will be led by Mohd Abass Rather as Secretary.
