Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 20: Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo, president, Panun Kashmir (PK) today said that the Kashmiri Pandits are the worst hit by the Article 35A which was introduced in Indian Constitution in 1954 through a promulgation of the President of India.
Talking to reporters here along with Virender Raina, chairman Political Affairs PK, Upinder Koul, general secretary, PK and Kamal Bhagat, general secretary (Org), Chrungoo said since Article 35 A has been put to the legal scrutiny in the Supreme Court, any protest against its hearing is tantamount to pressurizing the Apex Court on the issue. Organizing strikes and Bandhs in this connection cannot determine the legal or Constitutional status of the Article in question, he added.
He said, moreover, the forces who have been opposing the Constitution of India in the J&K State all along have no reason to be concerned about the existence or abrogation of Article 35A. Their opposition to its abrogation exhibits their duplicity, double talk and hypocrisy which they have been carrying on with for the last seven decades and which have paved way for destruction of the social edifice of Kashmir. It is also to be noted that Kashmir alone does not represent J & K State. The people of Ladakh and Jammu provinces along with the Kashmiri Pandits have been demanding its abrogation for quite a long time now. Time has come when things in this regard need to be settled once and for all, Chrungoo added.
He said the Kashmiri Pandits are supporting the Kashmir Temples’ & Shrines Bill and the community is looking towards the Government and the Governor’s rule in this regard. This is high time that the Government takes a firm stand regarding this all important concern keeping in view the civilizational aspirations of the Hindus of Kashmir. Temples and shrines in Kashmir belong to the whole Hindu society and the current condition of the religious and cultural places in Kashmir are a major concern of the society worldwide. The passage of the Bill will indeed prove to be the biggest Confidence Building Measure (CBM) in favour of the displaced Hindu community of Kashmir, he added.
Virender Raina, Chairman, P A C said that P K expresses serious concern over the threats carried out by the elected West Bengal, Chief Minister in context of the Bangladeshi illegal immigrants’ detection and deportation. These threats have potential to create social discord and communal disharmony. The issue of Rohingyas is also an issue that needs attention of the nation, he added.
Demanding immediate deportation of Rohingyas from Jammu, he said the role of those politicians can’t be absolved who were responsible for their camping in the Jammu city and its suburbs over the last 15 years.
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