People's Democracy

Initiate Early Democratic Process In Kashmir: Yechury

IN the wake of the elections, a democratic process must commence in Jammu & Kashmir.  There should be a concomitant effort at initiating a dialogue so that the people of the state do not feel isolated.  This was stated by Polit Bureau member of the CPI (M), Sitaram Yechury in Kolkata where a meeting of the Polit Bureau is going on.

Briefing the media in the Muzaffar Ahmad Bhavan, Sitaram Yechury described the elections held in Jammu & Kashmir as a slap in the face of the National Conference (NC)-BJP combine.  Yechury noted that by organising an electoral tie with the BJP, the NC ruined whatever prospects it had in the polls.  The polls also represented the popular rejection of terrorism that was sponsored by a state across the country’s borders.

The BJP, the CPI (M) leader pointed out, had already put on display its intense dislike of Art 370 while the RSS would not make a secret of its penchant for a proposed trifurcation of Jammu & Kashmir.  By hitching its electoral wagon to the communal BJP, the NC lost political credibility and gained the wrath of the electorate, commented Sitaram Yechury.

Another reason why the NC lost has to do with its  neglect of carrying out developmental work in the state.  The fact that the BJP lost seven of the eight seats it contested proved yet again that the communal card is working no longer. 

The BJP also missed an opportunity to utilise the poll process to make a fresh beginning in Kashmir, believed Sitaram Yechury.  By uselessly indulging in shuttling the Hurriyat members back and forth between Delhi and Srinagar in an attempt to draw political mileage, the BJP merely ended up by losing its face to the electorate.

The CPI (M) leader said that the win posted by the central committee member of the CPI (M), and the secretary of the Party’s J & K unit, Yusuf Tarigami was a triumph for the correct policy that the Party had consistently followed in Jammu & Kashmir, defending the interests of the people. 

The fact that Tarigami was able to win more than 54% of the votes polled, pointed out Sitaram Yechury, proved how the electorate had come forward to back the CPI (M) candidate all the way in the most difficult of circumstances.  The CPI (M)’s victory at Wachi, too, was praiseworthy as was its close finish in another seat.