Srinagar, November 26, 2021 (PPI-OT):In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the National Conference has said that the statements of the Indian ministers regarding the situation and development of the territory are misleading and against the ground realities.
National Conference members of the Indian parliament, Muhammad Akbar Lone and Hasnain Masoodi, in their joint statement in Srinagar, objected to Indian Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitaraman’s claims of a “changed ground situation” as “a bundle of lies to whitewash the devastating impact” of the abrogation of Kashmir’s special status. They pointed out that the footprint of Indian forces increased in Kashmir despite claims of normalcy and development.
They questioned, “Why have bunkers, night raids and civilian killings returned to haunt people?”. “How has the unemployment ratio skyrocketed to an all-time high of 21.6 percent? Why are people associated with manufacturing, horticulture, tourism and trade in the throes of a profound crisis?”
They said which yardstick had Sitharaman employed to gauge the development and growth parameters in IIOJK. “A simple fact check,” the MPs said, “will reveal how badly Jammu and Kashmir is doing on all developmental indices.”
The claims of the Modi-led Indian government, the MPs said, are akin to rubbing salt into the wounds of the people of Kashmir, who are being denied democracy and not trusted with a popular government, whose democratic rights have been crippled, whose exclusive rights over the land, jobs and natural resources stand liquidated.
They maintained that the Indian minister’s gloating on Kashmir was belied by the prevailing ground situation in the occupied territory. They said Indian ministers have been outlandishly lying to whitewash the devastating outcome of its August 5, 2019 unilateral and undemocratic decisions.
“The major causality of the abrogation of Articles 370, 35A has been the freedom of press,” they said, adding that by denying press freedom, New Delhi is only peddling its lies to white wash the aftermath of the Himalayan blunder it committed on August 5, 2019. They also criticised the Media Policy 2020, saying the same has taken away the basic principle of a free press and systematically stifled all forms of dissent in IIOJK. Cautioning the Indian government against misconstruing the situation in the occupied territory, the MPs demanded the return of Article 370.
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