Several other political parties – as well as the administration itself – have been hosting political events without facing similar action.
LG Manoj Sinha's function on Constitution Day flouted the same COVID-19 norms that are now being used against the PDP. Photo: LG’s Twitter account.
Srinagar: A magistrate’s refusal to allow the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) convention in Srinagar, citing fears of the spread of COVID-19, has sparked a political row in Jammu and Kashmir. Party chief Mehbooba Mufti has accused the administration of sabotaging the event.
The denial of permission for the PDP convention came barely three days after J&K Apni Party led by Altaf Bukhari, an ally of the BJP, held its maiden party convention in Srinagar, which was attended by hundreds of party workers and leaders, raising serious questions about the functioning and impartiality of the J&K administration.
Apni Party leaders seen flouting COVID-19 norms during the Srinagar convention.
“Why are Covid restrictions applicable only to the PDP and not the other parties? If the prime minister can participate in rallies in Uttar Pradesh, how is it that Covid will spread if PDP organises a meeting?” Mehbooba said during a press conference at her residence after the administration disallowed the party convention.
Suhail Bukhari, the PDP chief spokesperson, said his party had planned a day-long youth convention in the lawns of Mehbooba’s Fairview Residence located in the upscale Gupkar locality. Hours before the convention, Suhail said the PDP chief was put under house arrest, a charge rejected by J&K police, and the participants of the convention were stopped from reaching the venue.
An unsigned order issued by an executive magistrate of Srinagar said the permission for “youth conference” of the PDP at Gupkar was “not allowed” due to COVID-19 and a “report received by the office of Senior Superintendent of Police”. It asked the cops “to make sure that no such event happens without the permission of the authority”.
“Using force, police turned away the youth activists who had come from different parts of J&K to attend the event. We staged a protest in the party office but police manhandled our workers and sealed the office as well,” Suhail told The Wire, adding, “The COVID-19 virus seems to have mutated to only work against the PDP, while all others seem to be immune.”
Barely an hour after the convention was thwarted, the J&K Police said in a statement that it was “not advisable” to permit the convention in view of “credible inputs of vehicle bound IEDs being used to target civilians and high-security installations” in the “high security” zone on Gupkar Road, where the PDP chief’s residence is located.
“First they refused permission citing COVID-19. After realising they have allowed many political meetings in the past few days, they gave another spin of ‘IED blast’ threat. The fact is that the administration is unnerved by the resistance of the PDP and youth who are challenging their false narrative. We won’t be cowed down. We are determined to fight democratically for our rights and dignity,” Suhail said.
With upturned chairs in the background, a visibly upset Mehbooba shared a video from the barren lawns of her residence, alleging that the administration, by denying permission for the convention, was pushing the youth of Kashmir towards violence “so it becomes easy for them to use batons and bullets”.
“They reason they have turned you away from my door is because they are petrified of your voice and what it can achieve. You were prevented from reaching me today but this makes us more determined to remain steadfast on our mission of peace with dignity,” Mehbooba said.
“Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) gave a long speech in front of (US President Joe) Biden on democracy in India. But they have destroyed even the remnants of democracy in Jammu and Kashmir,” she added.
The J&K administration’s refusal to allow the PDP convention citing COVID-19 pandemic and security reasons came on the day when National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah addressed a large gathering of workers and party leaders in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district. Photos from the venue showed that most of the participants, including the NC leaders, were not following the COVID-19 protocols.
National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah at the Anantnag convention.
In fact, the J&K administration itself has flouted its own norms by organising gatherings in the union territory in the recent past, even though a recent order of the chief secretary Arun Kumar Mehta calls for “strictly” restricting the gatherings to 25. Experts fear that the chances of the spread of novel coronavirus are very high since the participants can be seen violating COVID-19 protocols in these events.
One such event was chaired by J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on November 26 to mark the Constitution Day celebrations in Jammu. A number of photos issued by the J&K’s Information Department showed a gathering of around 300 people in a hall at Jammu’s Civil Secretariat with many participants not wearing masks or wearing them improperly.
While an official order issued by J&K administration allows gatherings in banquet halls, “preferably in open spaces”, in districts with positivity rate below o.2%, the order calls for restricting the gathering to 25% of seating capacity. However, the function chaired by LG Sinha on the Constitution Day showed that the hall was full to capacity.
Another recent function which was chaired by J&K LG Manoj Sinha which is in
violation of the admin’s own orders.
The National Conference, Congress and even the PDP also recently organised public meetings and massive political rallies in Chenab and Pir Panjal regions of Jammu which were also facilitated by the J&K administration, despite concerns of the spread of COVID-19.
On November 9, People’s Conference (PC) organised a convention in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district which was attended by hundreds of party workers, including Fayaz Mir, former member of parliament who recently joined the party led by Sajad Lone. Photos of the event show that the participants were not following social distancing norms and not one among more than 200 participants was wearing a mask.
After the PDP convention was disallowed, the PC also alleged that the J&K administration was not permitting the party to hold a convention in Kupwara despite “repeated requests” while “other parties are facilitated & allowed a free hand to hold public rallys (sic),” the party’s official handle tweeted.
“I am in wonderment. In the context of Omicron DC Kupwara has no problems in allowing other parties to hold rallies. But what covid protocol has DC kupwara hidden from the scientific community which warranted denial of holding rally by our party just a week back. 3 times denied,” PC general secretary Imran Reza Ansari said.
Coming out in support of the PDP chief, Congress leader Salman Anees Soz tweeted: Political rallies are going on across India and even in J&K they have picked up. But restrictions are imposed on @MehboobaMufti & @jkpdp. Why such special treatment @manojsinha_?”
source ; the wire
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(With input from news agency language)
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