CPI(M)’s Tarigami urges CM to convene all-party meet on statehood

Srinagar, Aug 16: Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Kulgam, Mohamad Yousuf Tarigami, has urged Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the way forward for the restoration of statehood to Jammu & Kashmir, saying the matter concerns the collective constitutional rights of the people.“Restoration of statehood is not a favour; it is our constitutional right,” Tarigami said while addressing a press conference here.He added, “Peaceful protest is our democratic right. It is also our duty to raise our voice together so that people are not made to suffer further delays.”Tarigami said the people of J&K had expected Prime Minister Narendra Modi to at least mention the issue in his Independence Day address, but were left disappointed. “The Home Minister had earlier said that first delimitation, then elections, and then restoration of statehood would follow. Now that elections have been held peacefully and people have given their mandate, not respecting that mandate goes against the spirit of the Constitution,” he said.Appealing once again to the Chief Minister, the MLA Kulgam said, “This is not about the ruling party or opposition, but about the collective identity and constitutional rights of our people. The Chief Minister must call an all-party meeting. Restoration of statehood is not a favour, it is our constitutional right.”On the Kishtwar cloudburst tragedy, Tarigami, who also chairs the Legislative Assembly’s Environment Committee, expressed deep grief, describing it as both “a painful incident” and an “alarming wake-up call”.“As per official figures, around 60 bodies have been recovered so far, with fears that many more remain trapped under debris. Such calamities are a reminder that unchecked encroachments, reckless construction, and negligence towards environmental concerns can cost countless lives,” he said.Referring to recent disasters in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, he said the Himalayan region remains ecologically fragile. “We may belong to different communities or political ideologies, but when it comes to tampering with nature, this is a shared concern. Unless effective steps are taken, tragedies will keep repeating,” he cautioned.The CPI(M) leader alleged that illegal stone crushers in streams, encroachment on forests and water bodies, and a nexus between officials and vested interests continue unchecked, forcing poor villagers to pay with their lives. “Even medical facilities in disaster-prone areas remain grossly inadequate,” he added, urging media, NGOs, writers and civil society to highlight environmental issues with the same urgency as political debates.