Says “Those crying for statehood today diluted it in 1953, JKNC’s 1975 accord was a betrayal, not a breakthrough”
Srinagar | : Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen President J&K People’s Democratic Front (PDF) and former Minister here on Friday said that restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir is a constitutional and democratic right of the people but not a favour.
In a statement issued here on Friday Hakeem said that the people of the region are the rightful claimants to statehood, which was unjustly taken away. Yaseen criticized political parties currently advocating for statehood, claiming they were responsible for its erosion, which he traced back to changes made in 1953 by the Congress party that altered the political structure of Jammu and Kashmir. He condemned the actions of the Congress and the National Conference, stating they misled the populace and contributed to the constitutional degradation of the region. Yaseen referred to the 1975 Indira-Abdullah Accord as a significant betrayal, asserting that it prioritized political power over the rights of the people. He called for the restoration of statehood through parliamentary action, urging the opposition to move beyond superficial protests and to present a resolution in Parliament demanding immediate restoration. Yaseen reminded that both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah had previously promised to restore statehood in Parliament, and he urged them to fulfill these commitments. He concluded by stating that while elections have been contested and a government is in place, true governance is meaningless without full statehood, appealing to the leaders to restore it with honor and dignity.
