Jammu, June 15: Former minister and state president of National Panthers Party (NPP) Harsh Dev Singh on Thursday called for early restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and installation of an elected government, saying the prolonged Central rule in the erstwhile State was a negation of the constitutional guarantees enshrined in the Constitution of India.
In a statement, Dev said that several assurances by the Central government of restoring statehood to J&K at the appropriate time had failed to inspire the people of J&K who had lost faith in all such “melodramatic rants” of the BJP leadership.
“The BJP government was ruthlessly trampling upon the rights of J&K people resulting in alienation amongst the general masses,” Harsh said while addressing public meetings in Kossar and Banek villages of the Chenani constituency.
Speaking on the occasion, the NPP president said, “While the euphoria created by the abrupt abrogation of Article 370 had since petered out, the people were feeling cheated due to the dismantling of 200-year-old historical State of J&K and downgrading it to the level of UT. Such a move of BJP led government had not only lowered the morale of the people of erstwhile State but caused huge disenchantment in the hearts and minds of general masses.”
“It was not a demotion of the State only. In fact, every sensible citizen felt downgraded and humiliated. It had deeply hurt the sentiments of the people of J&K who felt belittled and dwarfed,” Singh said.
“History bears testimony that J&K acceded to the Union of India in 1947 only due to the historic decision taken by Maharaja Hari Singh despite numerous stumbling blocks, pulls and pressures. The demotion of State to UT level was not only unprecedented in the history but amounted to huge disparagement of the patriotic people of Jammu and Kashmir,” Harsh Dev observed.
Demanding early restoration of statehood and installation of an elected government, the NPP leader sought personal intervention of the President of India “to save the people of J&K from dictatorial and autocratic regime”.
