House detention of J&K leaders ‘chilling reminder’ of democratic decline: Congress

SRINAGAR — J&K Congress President Tariq Karra today said that the barring of the Chief Minister, his cabinet colleagues, and senior opposition leaders from visiting a graveyard and their subsequent house detention is a chilling reminder of how far India has drifted from its democratic values.

The party said its consistent opposition to the “dual control system” — wherein an elected government operates without full statehood — now stands vindicated.

“The Congress stands vindicated on its consistent stand against the present dual control system, in the absence of statehood in J&K. A sitting Chief Minister, his cabinet colleagues, and top opposition leaders being barred from visiting a graveyard and confined to their homes is a chilling reminder of how far we’ve drifted from democratic values,” Karra said in a post on X.

The party also took aim at the BJP, accusing it of exploiting a “highly unfortunate and condemnable incident” involving the excessive use of force against protestors. “The BJP has been trying to create a wedge between communities by using the highly unfortunate & condemnable incident of excessive use of force by the then system against those who were protesting for attaining the civil liberties and democratic rights,” Karra added.

“Is this the New India @BJP4India boasts of where fear & control acts as main tools of suppression of democratic voices. Shameful & undemocratic to the core,” the J&K Congress president said.

Meanwhile, the Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has come down heavily on the BJP-led Central government and the Jammu and Kashmir administration over what it called “undemocratic and authoritarian” actions taken on the occasion of Martyrs’ Day in the Valley.

In a strongly worded statement, the CPI(M) condemned the reported manhandling of Jammu and Kashmir’s elected Chief Minister Omar Abdullah at the revered Naqshband Sahib graveyard in Srinagar, where he had gone to pay homage to the 22 Kashmiri martyrs who were shot dead by the Dogra army on July 13, 1931.

The Left party also denounced the house arrest of several senior political leaders, including CPI(M) Central Committee member and J&K legislator Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, which prevented them from visiting the graveyard to mark the solemn occasion.

“The BJP government is trying to impose its own regressive diktats in Jammu and Kashmir. It has not only abolished the official holiday on Martyrs’ Day but paradoxically celebrates the birthday of the Maharaja who was responsible for the killing of these freedom fighters,” the CPI(M) Polit Bureau said in its statement.

The party alleged that the actions taken by the administration amounted to a blatant suppression of democratic rights and sentiments of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. It further accused the Lieutenant Governor—appointed by the Central government—of disrupting the functioning of the democratically elected State government by overriding its authority and violating its autonomy.

Calling for immediate corrective measures, the CPI(M) demanded that the BJP-led government stop “playing with the emotions of the people of J&K” and restore the traditional holiday on Martyrs’ Day to honour the historical legacy of resistance against autocratic rule.

“The Lt. Governor must issue a public apology for the assault on the Chief Minister, political leaders, and the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” the statement concluded.