By IANS,
Srinagar: By ruling out reduction of troops and revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Jammu and Kashmir, the central government is compromising the democratic ethos of the nation, opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said Monday.
Reacting sharply to the reported statement of union Home Minister P. Chidambaram ruling out reduction of forces in the state, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti in a strongly worded statement said “this stance was against the democratic ethos and constitutional mechanisms of India”.
“By repeatedly emphasising the need for retention of draconian laws and continued deployment of security forces to administer civilian areas, the government of India seemed to be conveying a message that the state is part of the country only through force,” she said.
“It is unfortunate that even after repeated participation of people here in all democratic exercises, the union government continues to use the security idiom to deal with the aspirations of the people,” she said.
“This worked at cross purposes with the efforts to find an amicable solution for which dialogue is prescribed and interlocution initiated,” she said.
Mufti said the ‘over-emphasis on military means could be interpreted as an acknowledgement of the inability to win hearts and minds of the people which is a disappointment for the large constituency of peace in the state’.
“Sixty percent participation in democratic process and transition of people from violence to peaceful demonstrations have not served as an eye opener as the response for bullets and ballot has been the same,” the PDP president pointed out cautioning that “it could once again push Kashmir to the wall”.
“History is testimony to the fact that Kashmiris have always reciprocated to positive initiatives with goodness, but when pushed to wall they have also revolted (rebelled) with all their strength,” she added.
“Trust deficit between people and the rest of the country cannot be bridged by a hawkish approach, draconian laws and continuation of huge presence of forces but by trusting people to breathe in a free atmosphere,” she added.