SRINAGAR: The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has strongly condemned what it described as the police manhandling of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah at Srinagar’s Naqshband Sahib graveyard on July 13, as well as the house detention of several political leaders including CPI(M) Central Committee member and sitting MLA Mohd Yusuf Tarigami.
In a sharply worded statement issued on Sunday, the CPI(M) accused the central BJP-led government of “enforcing its diktats and regressive points of view” in Jammu and Kashmir. The party said the forcible obstruction of political leaders attempting to pay tribute to the 22 martyrs of 1931 was a direct attack on democratic rights.
“It is outrageous that the elected Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir was physically prevented and manhandled by police while trying to honour the memory of those who laid down their lives against Dogra rule,” the Polit Bureau said, calling the incident a “shameful display of authoritarianism.”
The party also condemned the abolition of the official Martyrs’ Day holiday—historically observed on July 13—and criticised the declaration of the Maharaja’s birthday as a public holiday instead. “This inversion of historical memory is deeply offensive to the people of Jammu and Kashmir and undermines the sacrifices made in the region’s struggle for justice,” the statement read.
The CPI(M) alleged that the Lieutenant Governor, appointed by the Centre, is deliberately obstructing the functioning of the elected government in Jammu and Kashmir. “Such behaviour strikes at the core of federalism and democratic functioning,” the party said, demanding that the LG issue a public apology for what it called the “assault on the Chief Minister, political leaders and the people of Jammu and Kashmir.”
Calling on the BJP government to “stop playing with the sentiments” of the people, the CPI(M) demanded the immediate restoration of the Martyrs’ Day holiday and full respect for the democratic rights of all residents of Jammu and Kashmir.
