Left parties denounce Modi govt’s move to trash Art 370, 35-A

The Left parties on Monday denounced in one voice the Narendra Modi government’s decision to scrap the Article 370 and Article 35A of the Constitution of India, which give the state a special status, and called for a nationwide protest on August 7 against the move.

A joint statement signed by CPM leader Sitaram Yechury, CPI’s D. Raja,

CPI-ML’s Dipankar Mukherjee, AIFB’s Debabrata Biswas and RSP’s Kshiti Goswami said: “The Modi government has dealt a severe blow to our constitutional order by unilaterally scrapping Article 370 and other provisions of the Constitution and dividing the state of Jammu and Kashmir.”

It said that the special provisions guaranteed by the Indian Constitution to the state of Jammu & Kashmir were the result of the princely state signing the Instrument of Accession to the Indian Union in the face of Pakistani invaders.

“By the current measures, the Modi government has completely negated the assurance made by the Indian government to the people of Jammu & Kashmir. This is an assault on federalism, a fundamental feature of the Indian Constitution,” the statement said.

“The Indian Union was formed on the basis of the unity of our people recognizing the immense diversities that exist, which is the legacy of our freedom struggle. Clearly, the RSS/BJP cannot tolerate any diversity and are converting Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh as two separate centrally administered Union Territories.

“This is a betrayal of all promises, repeated ad nauseam by the central government over the years, of upholding Kashmiriyat, Jamhooriyat (democracy) and Insaniyat (humanitarianism),” it added.

The Left leaders underlined in the statement that the strengthening of the bonds of people of Jammu & Kashmir with the rest of India can only be done through the “process of political dialogue with all stakeholders as promised by the government three years ago”.

They stressed that the present “undemocratic unilateral step” will only “deepen the alienation” and is “harmful” for the unity and integrity of India.

“The Left parties call upon the people of India to strongly protest against these illegal and unconstitutional methods employed by the Modi government. These are not issues confined to Jammu & Kashmir alone. They constitute an attack on democracy, federalism and the constitutional order. The Left parties call for a protest day on August 7, 2019 all over the country,” the statement further read.

“Stop this destruction of the Indian Constitution, stop the destruction of the state of Jammu & Kashmir,” it said.