Srinagar: The state secretary of the Communist Party of India (M) on Sunday claimed that central leadership of the party has described the August 5,2019 decision of the BJP government at the centre as unconstitutional, illegal and authoritarian.
Reacting to former finance minister of Jammu and Kashmir Dr Haseeb Drabu’s assertions on the Gupkar Declaration, CPI(M) secretary Ghulam Nabi Malik said it was not based on facts.
Dr Drabu had questioned whether J&K CPI (M) had the blessing of the high command to be part of the Gupkar Deceleration or it is a “localized “show of solidarity.
Malik in a statement here today said to put the records straight, the CPI (M) central leadership has strongly opposed unconstitutional, illegal and authoritarian decisions taken by the BJP government on 5 August 2019. In fact, the CPI (M) has always been at the forefront to not only safeguard the special status of J&K but also restore the original position of Article 370.
He said CPI(M) has time and again supported the special status of the Jammu and Kashmir.
Malik said that in an Editorial on August 2, 2020 in “People’s Democracy”, the official organ of CPI (M), the party’s position is reaffirmed that “the onslaught of the BJP and RSS must be fought back squarely. In the case of J&K, we have seen several secular opposition parties unwilling to take a firm stand that the special status and statehood of J&K should be restored. They seek to reduce the matter to only the release of political prisoners and restoration of democratic rights. This is a compromising stand. The fight for democracy, secularism and federalism requires a clear-cut stand – statehood along with special status for J&K must be restored. Not to do so would further diminish India as a secular democracy”, the editorial said.