National Conference on Thursday lashed out at Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and the PDP-BJP Government for their brazen and shameless attempts to prevent essential food commodities from reaching parts of Srinagar and also condemned the curbs announced on distribution of fuel to petrol pumps. “As if the wanton killing and maiming of our youth was not enough to satiate her appetite for tyranny, Mehbooba Mufti is now supervising a systemic, well-planned policy of an embargo on essential commodities and rations to persecute the people into submission”, NC State Spokesperson Junaid Mattu said in a statement issued to KNS. “We are shocked and sickened at the ghastly murder of a young lecturer in Khrew, Pampore last night. This narrative of arrogance and ignorance from the Central and State Government, coupled with an increased sense of impunity, has emboldened the brutality against civilians to an extent where a young lecturer has been beaten to death. Dastardly cases like these in the last few days, including the barbaric point-blank shooting of an ATM guard at Chattabal, followed by the targeted killing of a youth in Batamaloo has failed to awaken the dead conscience of our Chief Minister and her allies and has also failed to move the Prime Minister to look towards the grief in Kashmir when he’s done looking towards Baluchistan. We express our heartfelt condolences and solidarity with the families of these young men who have lost their lives. Their loss is unimaginable”, the NC Spokesperson said.
The NC Spokesperson also condemned the intimidation and harassment of Amnesty International after an event held in Bangalore. “The intimidation of Amnesty International is by no means an attribute or measure of patriotism. This fully patronized harassment of Amnesty International depicts the fascist and intolerant narrative that is thriving under a Central Government that finds its succor in jingoism and autocracy. If Amnesty International can be booked for a law as archaic and regressive as sedition in the present day and age, one can only dread the imminent elimination of transparency and freedom-of-speech in the country. This churlish, intolerant behavior goes against the very fabric of the Constitution and the values it pledges to safeguard. The Prime Minister shouldn’t allow this narrative to flourish – its long term implications will be disastrous”, the NC Spokesperson said in the statement.
The NC Spokesperson also expressed serious concern over the safety and security of Kashmiri students studying outside the State and said the Chief Minister was duty-bound to take all possible measures to ensure their safety and well-being.
“Mehbooba Mufti should take some time from the frequent practice of putting one’s foot in one’s mouth at every possible opportunity and call all Chief Ministers and also exert pressure on her allies in New Delhi to ensure no Kashmiri student is harassed or intimidated. Her failure to call the Chattisgarh Chief Minister in time over the case of a young Kashmiri professional in Chattisgarh booked in a case of sedition over a Facebook post has emboldened fascist fringe groups and communal organizations across the Country. These groups are now issuing public warnings to Kashmiri students. The onus lies on the Chief Minister to act and till now her characteristic inaction has cast a shadow of insecurity over our students studying outside the State”, the NC Spokesperson added. “The curb on distribution of fuel is outrageous and will pose enormous difficulties to Hajjis, patients and attendants as well as doctors who have to reach hospitals. That the Chief Minister has chosen to do something as atrocious as this after more than a month of curfew speaks volumes about her state of mind. If she wants to torture people into submission – she is grossly mistaken and also a very poor student of history. Mass repression against civilians will worsen the situation and comes with the enormous risk of a public revolt that goes beyond the scope of the traditional operational containment – which is the only policy of this Government as well as the Central Government”, the NC Spokesperson said. (KNS)