PDP seeks action against ‘killers’, decides to boycott rest of session


*Ramzan blasts Hurriyat over shutdown calendar

*Er Rasheed calls J&K as ‘disputed’, dismisses pro-India politicians as ‘Delhi’s agents’

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Sep 30: Principal opposition party, PDP, today participated in the obituary references on day one of the special session of the Legislature but decided to boycott rest of the proceedings until “killers of 109 Kashmiri youths martyred in the last four months” were identified and punished by Omar Abdullah’s National Conference-led coalition government. Grappling with members of a number of mainstream parties, particularly BJP and Panthers Party, independent MLA, Engineer Sheikh Abdul Rasheed, questioned finality of the state’s accession to India on the floor of the House even as his NC neighbour, Chowdhary Mohammad Ramzan, blasted the separatist Hurriyat Conference over its unending shutdown calendars and the mainstream PDP over its soft corner for “real criminals of Kashmir’s bloodshed”.

Breaking the tradition of paying tributes only to sitting or former members of the Legislature, whose death occurred in the last few months, Assembly Secretariat had also enlisted in the Obituary References all those killed in the last four months of turbulence in the state. It was widely perceived to be the government’s move to neutralize what could have been potentially the PDP’s exclusive initiative of empathizing with the families of the Kashmiris killed in current turmoil.

Initiating nearly three-hour-long homage paying ritual in the state Legislative Assembly, PDP President Mehbooba Mufti alleged that Omar Abdullah government had crossed all limits in silencing the Valley’s angry youth with bullets and detentions. She said that 45 of the total of 109 civilians killed by Police and other armed forces in the last four months were teenagers and students. She asserted that most of these civilians were innocent who had been done to death mercilessly by Police and security forces with a highly questionable level of support from the state government.

Mehbooba referred to Chief Minister’s assurance to a multitude of people at Anantnag in June and pointed out that no action had been taken till date against the killers of three youths allegedly gunned down by Police at the south Kashmir district headquarters during the course of a street demonstration. She said it was “extremely surprising” that nobody from the government had visited the families of the civilians killed by Police and security forces. She claimed credit for her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s healing touch policy and asserted that the PDP top brass had called on everybody killed in the political violence from 2002 to 2008.

Leader of the opposition party, Mehbooba pointed out that Omar Abdullah had assumed office of the Chief Minister at a time when hundreds of thousands of the electors had participated in the Assembly elections and there was no disturbance. She asserted that inapt handling of the situation by incompetent rulers had snowballed into a major crisis as the delivery systems of the coalition government had failed completely and the Chief Minister had ‘outsourced governance’ to his ‘masters in New Delhi’.

Mehbooba pointed out that announcements with regard to policy formation and implementation had been pouring in from the union capital in the matters not included in the central or concurrent list. “Be it relocating a sandbag bunker or opening of primary schools, the decisions are now taken directly in New Delhi and communicated to the state government and population through media. According to her, lately released 8-point charter, issued by Government of India, was a sad commentary on functioning and performance of Omar Abdullah’s government.

Winding up her speech, Mehbooba sought identification, arrest and prosecution of the Police and paramilitary personnel who, according to her, were involved in killing over a hundred civilians in the Valley in last four months. “All of us (mainstream politicians) have lost relevance and credibility as we have failed to protect our subjects from the guns of state’s security forces. Nothing short of substantive action against the killers could restore our credibility”, Mehbooba asserted. She made a dramatic announcement that PDP would boycott rest of the session and stay away from business until “killers of 109 Kashmiri youths martyred in the last four months” were identified, arrested and punished under law. With that, all of her party’s MLAs led by her walked out of the Assembly complex.

In his key address on the obituary references later, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah claimed that he was equally agonized over the death of 109 Kashmiris but would not convert the solemn occasion into a political debate. He said that he would reply the PDP leader, point by point, later in the current session if Speaker granted him time and an occasion to clarify the government’s position with regard to current political upheaval.

In an impressive speech from the Traesury Benches, senior NC leader, Chowdhary Mohanmmad Ramzan, dismissed PDP’s allegations as a “drama”. “We would appreciate Ms Mufti’s sincerity had she also condemned Hurriyat’s unending shutdown calendars that are the real source of current bloodshed and violence in Kashmir”, Ramzan grumbled in the House. He suggested that PDP had a soft corner for Kashmiri secessionists who, according to him, had brought about a dark period of shutdown and economic crisis.

Independent MLA from Langate, Er Rasheed, asked Prime Minister of India to declare J&K as a “disputed state” and start negotiations with Kashmiri separatists on the 5-point charter released by hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani. “Let the talks begin with Azadi as the point of reference”, he said, raising eyebrows from members of a number of mainstream political parties.

Panthers Party leader, Harsh Dev Singh and Blwant Singh Mankotia, BJP’s Ashok Khajuria and Jugal Kishore, Ashwani Kumar of Jammu State Morcha, Mohammad Sharief Niyaz of Congress and Kafeel-ur-Rehman of NC were among over a dozen MLAs of different political parties besides Minister of Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Ali Mohammad Sagar, questioned Er Rasheed’s act of challenging India’s sovereignty and integrity after having taken oath to protect it as a Member of Legislative Assembly.

On Mankotia’s initiative, Speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone ordered expunction of some uncharitable remarks made by the MLA against Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

END