NEW DELHI (Kashmir English): India’s left parties have condemned the police’s manhandling of Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah who scaled the gates of a graveyard in Srinagar to pay tribute to martyrs of July 13, with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) demanding an apology from the New Delhi-appointed Lieutenant Governor of the territory for the “assault” on the CM.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the CPI(M) also slammed the house arrest of various political leaders in occupied Kashmir to prevent them from going to the Martyrs’ Graveyard at Naqshband Sahib in Srinagar to pay homes to July 13, 1931 martyrs, on Sunday.
In a statement, the Politburo of the CPI(M) further said, “The central [Indian] government headed by the BJP is trying to enforce its own diktats and regressive points of view, an example of which is the abolition of the holiday on Martyrs’ Day.
On the other hand, the birthday of the Maharaja, responsible for killing freedom fighters, is declared as a holiday. The Lt. Governor appointed by the central government is undermining the smooth functioning of the duly elected state government,” the CPI(M) said.
Democratic rights of people of Jammu and Kashmir
The party demanded that “the BJP government should stop playing with the sentiments of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, restore the holiday on Martyrs’ Day, and respect and protect the democratic rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Lt. Governor must apologise for the assault on the CM, the political leaders and the people of Jammu and Kashmir”.
CPI General Secretary D Raja shared an image of Omar Abdullah scaling the graveyard’s gate, and said, “It is utterly unacceptable that in Jammu and Kashmir, the LG’s administration and the police prevented even the elected Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, along with citizens and leaders, from paying their respects at the Martyrs’ graveyard on July 13, arresting and manhandling them.”
“Adding to this insult, numerous leaders were placed under house arrest, silenced within their own homes on a day of collective remembrance,” Raja said.
He said it is not just a breach of democratic norms, rather, he said, “It’s a blatant assault on our conscience and a reminder of how far governance in the region has fallen under authoritarian unaccountable rule”.
“CPI demands immediate restoration of statehood, no ifs, no buts, so that the people’s representatives can truly serve, instead of being silenced and subjugated,” he said.
Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called the incident “unfortunate”.
“What is wrong in visiting the graveyard of martyrs? This is not only unfortunate, it also snatches the democratic right of a citizen. What happened to an elected Chief Minister OmarAbdullah is unacceptable. Shocking. Shameful,” she said in a post on X.
Dramatic scenes unfolded in Srinagar on Monday, a day after Omar Abdullah and several leaders of the National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party and other parties were put under house arrest to prevent them from going to the Martyrs’ Graveyard at Naqshband Sahib to pay tributes to 22 Kashmiris martyred by the Dogra army in 1931.
Indian forces’ personnel sealed the roads leading to the Martyrs graveyard in Srinagar. The IOJK Chief Minister had to climb over the main gate to enter the graveyard premises.
