Article 370 abrogation anniversary: Mehbooba claims house arrest

People's Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti and several other regional party leaders on Monday claimed that they have been placed under house arrest on the fifth anniversary of the reading down of Article 370 of the Constitution that provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

"I have been placed under house arrest while the PDP office has been locked," Mehbooba told PTI.

The former chief minister later took to social media, saying '5th August 2019 will go down in history not just as a dark day for J&K but a blot on Indian democracy'.

'The day when a semi autonomous state was disempowered, dismembered & robbed of everything special & sacrosanct to us. Since then the state has been threatened into silence which is touted as 'peace and normalcy' to the rest of the country. Five years on the siege continues but so does the unyielding defiance & resistance. We Kashmiris refuse to be erased & unpeopled,' she posted on X.

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said while Bharatiya Janata Party leaders were allowed to celebrate the day while those who are against the abrogation have been locked up in their homes.

'This is what passes for democracy & free speech in J&K. A handful of BJP 'leaders' are encouraged to celebrate today while those who would have registered their protest against what was done to J&K are locked up in homes across the valley,' he said in a post on X.

Official sources said the office of Apni Party, headed by Altaf Bukhari, was also closed for the day as a precautionary measure.

National Conference chief spokesman Tanvir Sadiq claimed that he has been placed under house arrest.

'I have been detained at home, which was completely unnecessary. I needed to leave for some work, but policemen outside my gate prevented me from doing so. This is unwarranted and illegal,' Sadiq said in a post on X.

He also posted a picture showing police personnel outside the gate to his residence in Hassanabad area of the city.

'August 5 is and will always remain unconstitutional and illegal. On August 5, 2019, the BJP betrayed the people of Jammu and Kashmir. By ignoring the Constitution, the BJP undermined the constitutional, moral, ethical, and legal relationship with the J&K,' the NC spokesman added.

The Centre on August 5, 2019 revoked Article 370 of the Constitution which provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir within the Indian Union.

The Centre also brought the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act that bifurcated the erstwhile state into two union territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir.

People's Conference president Sajad Gani Lone said August 5 will be a reminder of 'complete disempowerment of Kashmiri people'.

'August 5 will always be an ugly reminder of the complete disempowerment of the Kashmiri people.Five years on there is no elected Assembly and the locals have no say in running their own affairs. And sadly there aren't enough powerful voices in the country to seek questions as to why J and K has been selectively targeted for such humiliating existence,' Lone posted on X.

In a statement, the National Conference alleged that the Government has 'unjustly placed our leaders under house arrest, effectively isolating the party headquarters Nawa-e-Subha in Srinagar'.

'This blatant suppression of mainstream democratic activities only serves to showcase the administration's underlying fear and exposes the hollowness of their claims of progress over the past five years.

'August 5, 2019, remains a stark reminder of the disempowerment of the people of J&K, a process that continues unchecked with the absence of a democratically elected government in the region. The unilateral and undemocratic decisions made on August 5, 2019, are a betrayal of the promises made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir by New Delhi,' the party said.

It said these decisions are unacceptable to the people of J&K, as demonstrated by the recent parliamentary election results in the region.

'As far as JKNC is concerned, we will persist in our fight for the restoration of our abridged rights through democratic, legal, and peaceful means. The unjust actions of the government will not deter us from our mission to uphold the rights and freedoms of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,' it added.