‘Undemocratic, Shameful’: Mamata, CPI(M) condemn action against CM Omar Abdullah

Amid growing outrage over the July 13 restrictions in Kashmir, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the CPI(M) Polit Bureau have strongly condemned the house arrest and alleged manhandling of Jammu Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, calling it a direct assault on democratic rights and a deliberate attempt to erase the memory of the 1931 martyrs.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee strongly condemned the treatment of Jammu Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on July 14, calling his house arrest “unacceptable, shocking, and shameful.” Speaking to reporters, she said, “What is wrong with visiting the graveyard of martyrs? This is not only unfortunate, it also snatches the democratic right of a citizen.”

Banerjee’s remarks marked one of the few statements from national political figures outside Jammu and Kashmir, expressing concern over the suppression of elected leaders and the restriction on commemorating Martyrs’ Day.

In a statement, the Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly condemned the “police manhandling” of Omar Abdullah, the elected Chief Minister of Jammu Kashmir at the Naqshband Sahib graveyard in Srinagar when he had gone to pay homage to the 22 people killed by the Dogra army on July 13, 1931.

“We also condemn the house arrest of various political leaders, including Mohd. Yusuf Tarigami, Central Committee member of the CPI(M) and member of the J&K Assembly, preventing them from proceeding to pay homage to the martyrs, yesterday,  The central government, headed by the BJP is trying to enforce its own diktats and regressive points of view, an example of which is the abolition of the holiday on Martyrs’ Day. On the other hand, the birthday of the Maharaja, responsible for killing freedom fighters is declared as a holiday.  The Lt. Governor appointed by the central government is undermining the smooth functioning of the duly elected state government,” ” the statement read.

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) demanded that the BJP government “stop playing with the sentiments of the people of Jammu Kashmir” and demanded the restoration the holiday on Martyrs’ Day and “to respect and protect the democratic rights of the people of Jammu Kashmir.