New Delhi: While expressing concern over the extension of President’s rule for another six months in Jammu and Kashmir, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) on Saturday demanded to start a process of political dialogue with all stakeholders and holding an early assembly elections in the state.
“The Union Home Minister’s intervention in Parliament while moving the extension of President’s Rule for another six months in Jammu and Kashmir was provocative leading to further alienation of the people of the state”, said CPI(M) polit bureau in a statement.
The Left party further said that the move is not healthy for India’s unity and integrity and added that “alienation only feeds growth of terrorism, which the country is unitedly determined to defeat”.
The CPI(M)’s response came a day after the Narendra Modi government decided to extend the President’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir by six months from July 3 and the Lok Sabha gave its approval.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while replying to a debate on a statutory resolution on extending President’s Rule in Jammu and Kashmir said that the Union Government is ready to conduct assembly polls in the state as and when the Election Commission decides.
Jammu and Kashmir was placed under the Governor’s rule from June 2018 to December, and under President’s rule since then.
The CPI(M), however, pointed out that if the conditions were conducive for holding the parliamentary elections in the state, there is no reason to prohibit the holding of elections to the Jammu and Kashmir assembly.
“All political parties in the state have asked for immediate election to the assembly and opined that this is the best way to draw in the people of Kashmir into the democratic process”, it said.
The Left party also criticised Mr Shah for not meeting with political parties during his visit in the state and said “for the first time in India’s history, a Union Home Minister did not meet the political parties in the state”.
The polit bureau of the CPI(M) demanded that the Union government, “on the basis of the accepted recognition that the Jammu and Kashmir situation is not merely a law and order problem”, implement its own assurances that it had earlier given to the people of the state, including holding early polls.
