Shrinagar : On the eve of the second anniversary of nullification of Article 370, which accorded a special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and division of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories, the five-party People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) has slammed the BharatiyaJanata Party for its ‘Naya Kashmir’ slogan.In a statement on Wednesday, PAGD spokesperson Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami said, “The hoax of BJP’s Naya Kashmir is a joke now. People have started questioning those in authority as [to] what they have achieved by destroying Kashmir which came into being through protracted historic struggle of the people of J&K.”

“By demolishing the constitution of J&K, the government crossed all the limits of constitutionality. By downgrading a historic state and dividing it into two separate Union Territories without the consent of the people and also ignoring the resolution adopted by J&K legislature on March 3, 2004, to preserve the unity and the secular character of state, [the government] has set a precedent that any state can cease to exist as a state and can be carved up into any number of fragments any time, by placing it under the governor’s rule,” he said

On August 5, 2019, the Centre scrapped Article 370 of the Constitution and decided to bifurcate the state into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

As a pre-emptive measure, Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure was imposed in the state. Prominent political leaders of the region, such as former chief ministers, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, were placed under house arrest. Communication lines, too, were snapped, and internet and mobile services suspended.

Tarigami, who met Prime Minister NarendraModi in New Delhi on June 24 along with 13 other leaders from J&K, said nullification of Article 35 A made the status of permanent residents redundant. “Protection of jobs and the land rights was removed arbitrarily which deepened the alienation and sense of insecurity in all the regions. The economy of J&K has virtually collapsed as tourism, trade agriculture , horticulture and handicraft sectors were badly hit. Employment opportunities are shrinking. Is corruption any less and goverence any better? The fact remains not a single claim stands the test of the scrutiny.”Tarigami, a four-time legislator and general secretary of CPI(M), said continuous restrictions on the movement of people, and gagging the media have resulted in a forced silence. “Over the last two years, it has become amply clear why the Centre was so insistent on taking such drastic, unlawful measures... Suppression of civil and democratic rights continues, indiscriminate arrests...and issuing of diktats like not to provide clearance for passport and government services if anyone is involved in ‘law and order, and stone pelting cases’ is one more addition,” he said.