Adjournment motion on unmarked graves, civilian killings disallowed’

GNS SRINAGAR: Opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti today said though National Conference (NC) is continuing with its traditional attitude of muzzling the voice of opposition both in and outside the state legislature, ‘but it could no more ignore the arrival of PDP on the political scene.’
She was speaking after her adjournment motion in the Legislative Assembly was disallowed amid stiff opposition to its introduction by treasury benches. The adjournment motion was moved by her to discuss the issue of unmarked graves and justice for the 120 people killed by the forces last summer in Kashmir.
Meanwhile, sources said that the PDP has called a party legislature meeting in the evening to chalk out the strategy for Afzal Guru clemency resolution scheduled to be discussed in the Assembly on Wednesday.
Mehbooba said historically NC has been completely ‘intolerant’ of any political opposition and had tried to stamp out any political force that aimed at utilizing the democratic space in the state for channelizing the people’s sentiments. “In spite of its best effort to do so, PDP has arrived on the state political scene with a strong popular backing,” she said and regretted that NC is not ready even to acknowledge this fact.
The opposition leader said though it was an established parliamentary practice to allow main opposition party to raise issues of public importance ‘but historically NC has been completely intolerant of any political opposition.’
She said even in the Parliament the opposition’s voice is never gagged ‘but in our state legislature the NC always counts on its numerical strength to disallow any debate initiated by the opposition.’
“Even serious issues of life and death like unmarked graves or killing of innocent on the street are not allowed by ruling party although the national parliament takes note of anything that the opposition raises from issues of day to day governance to political matters,” she said.
Voicing her concern at the continued silence of the civil society of rest of the country over the issues of unmarked graves and human rights violation in J&K, Mehbooba said the purpose of her adjournment motion was to create awareness in the country over the serious matter. She said not a single voice of protest has emerged from anywhere over this disclosure which is embarrassing our democratic system.
Mehbooba said Kashmir seems to be away from the thinking process of those who raise hue and cry over a single unfortunate incident anywhere else in the country where as thousand of unmarked graves go unnoticed in J&K. “Nobody has raised his voice about the victims of the enforced disappearances or fake encounters even though these have been happening almost as a routine in Kashmir,” she said.
The PDP President said by disallowing her adjournment motion the NC has added another black chapter to its history of repression and political high handedness which makes its democratic pretentions ridiculous.