Srinagar: Senior Congress leader and former union minister, Saifuddin Soz Saturday said that Mehbooba Mufti has “reflected the feelings of an average Kashmiri by saying that she will not hold tricolor till the State’s flag is restored with the status of the State.”
In a statement to media, Soz said the question is as to “what does the Union expect from the beleaguered people of Kashmir who are determined to continue their struggle for restoration of the special status.”
“That the Modi Government has internationalized Kashmir issue once again is an obvious fact. It is not for nothing that the world-famous intellectuals like Noam Chomsky of America and Johan Galtung of Spain have raised their voice against the treatment meted out to Kashmir by the Modi government. Both these high-ranking intellectuals have said that Kashmir has been rendered into a prison with the entire population there as prisoners,” Soz said
He added that it cannot be business as usual in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370.
“Today or tomorrow, the abrogated Article 370 or its exact equivalent shall have to be restored. Otherwise, the constitutional relationship between the State and the Union would continue to remain a flawed situation,” he said.
Interestingly, the party he belongs to has strongly contested Mehbooba’s flag statement.
J&K Pradesh Congress Committee condemned Mehbooba’s statement saying it is unacceptable and has hurt sentiments of people.
“Such statements are intolerable and unacceptable in any society,” JKPCC chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said.
Sharma said the tri-colour is the symbol of honour for the country and reminds of the sacrifices of crores of Indians to achieve freedom and to protect the dignity, honour and the territorial integrity of the country. He said such statements will defeat the democratic and constitutional struggle for achieving any just right.
