The following joint statement was issued by Indian left parties on August 5, condemning the dismantling of the state of Jammu and Kashmir and the assault on India’s Constitution, democracy and federalism.
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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.
The special provisions guaranteed by the Indian Constitution to the state of Jammu and 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 and Kashmir. This is an assault on federalism, a fundamental feature of the Indian Constitution.
The Indian union was formed on the basis of the unity of our people recognising 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 (humanism). The strengthening of the bonds of the people of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of India can only be through the process of political dialogue with all stakeholders, as promised by the government 3 years ago. Instead, this undemocratic unilateral step will only deepen the alienation. This 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 and 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.
Stop this Destruction of the Indian Constitution
Stop the Destruction of the State of Jammu & Kashmir
Signed by:
(Sitaram Yechury), General Secretary, Communist Party of India (Marxist), CPI(M)
(D Raja), General Secretary, Communist Party of India, CPI
(Dipankar Bhattacharya.), General Secretary, Communist Party of India, Marxist-Leninist (Liberation) CPI(ML)
(Debabrata Biswas), General Secretary, All India Forward Bloc, AIFB
(Kshiti Goswami), Revolutionary Socialist Party, RSP