By PTI
SRINAGAR: Peoples Conference chairman Sajad Lone on Tuesday said punitive actions against the Kashmiri youth will not help as they have not helped in the past as well.
Referring to the registration of two FIRs against the medical students in the valley for celebrating Pakistan’s victory over India in the Sunday’s T20 international cricket match at Dubai, Lone said he “does not see anti-Indianism or pro-Pakistanism as an irreversible condition”.
“I strongly disagree. If you think that they r not patriotic enough because they cheered for another team- u should have the courage and the belief to wean them back if u think they have gone patriotically astray. Punitive actions won’t help. Have not helped in the past either,” Lone said on Twitter.
He was reacting to a tweet calling for the suspension of the students.
The Peoples Conference chairman said, “We live in Kashmir and have to live with those who are ideologically opposed to us”.
“But we’re confident that it is a game of narratives of discourses. And that we will win. We will convince all about the goodness of our ideology. We will prevail. But that that is if u allow us to,” he said.
“We don’t see anti Indianism or pro-Pakistanism as an irreversible condition. It is at best a curable disease. Let us cure it. Allow us to cure it. Trust me. Punitive actions can worsen the disease,” he added in another tweet.
Meanwhile, CPI (M) secretary Ghulam Nabi Malik termed the FIR as “unwarranted, unnecessary” and demanded immediate rollback of the charges against the students.
“The past experiences reveal that such punitive actions have not helped in achieving any results nor it will have any desired outcome this time. Winning and losing is part of any game and in a democratic setup everybody has a choice to cheer up for his favourite team or a player,” Malik said.
He said there are such examples where Indian fans gave standing ovation to Pakistan cricket team after its victory and same things happened with Pakistani crowds cheering up for the India team.
In 1999, Chennai crowd gave a standing ovation to victorious Pakistan side.
The crowd applauded the fact that Pakistan on that day was the better of the two sides.
The Pakistani team reciprocated in kind to the crowd’s gesture, taking a victory lap around the ground.
Nobody become anti-national if he supports one team or the other, he said.
Malik urged upon J-K administration to immediately revoke the charges framed against the medical college students and help them to continue their degrees.
A volcano has been building up in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah said on Tuesday and expressed fears over what shape it would take when it erupted.
Celebrations in the Valley over Pakistan’s win against India in the T-20 cricket world cup while Home Minister Amit Shah was visiting were meant to provoke the BJP, which had taken away Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, the erstwhile state’s former chief minister added.
“They (those who celebrated the win) don’t have anything to do with them (Pakistanis) It was done to provoke the BJP. They were children and young boys and this should serve as an eye-opener for the BJP,” Abdullah said at a public meeting in Surankote in Poonch district.
The BJP claims a new phase has started and militancy has finished but the situation is otherwise, Abdullah said.
He said Shah was the one who announced the state’s special status under Article 370 being revoked and also witnessed the celebrations after the Pakistan’s cricket win on Sunday.
“They (the BJP) took away Article 370 and Article 35A from us and claim not a single bullet was fired. How could bullets have been fired when you have put a soldier outside the door of every household? A volcano is building up even as they think they have silenced (the people).”
“This volcano will erupt one day and god knows what will be its shape and size. They have to return Article 370 to the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
In August 2019, the government revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370 and bifurcated the state into the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
Addressing the rally, Abdullah also defended his advocacy for a dialogue between India and Pakistan and asked people to pray to the almighty for good sense to prevail in both the countries and for a way out in the larger interest of peace and development in the subcontinent.
Taking a dig at the BJP-led government, he said its policies triggered farmer unrest in the country even as it was asked to send the three farm bills to the select committee in parliament.
Both India and Pakistan, the former chief minister said, spend a major chunk of their revenues in preparing for war, impacting their poor.
“The people of Jammu and Kashmir are sandwiched between the animosities of the two countries. The hostility is also the main reason to spread hatred and divide people on the name of Hindus and Muslims,” he said.
In his view, political parties in both countries are winning elections in the name of Kashmir.
“They (Pakistan) say Kashmir is our jugular vein and we have been suffering for 75 years. This side says this is our land and we will take back the land which is under the illegal occupation of Pakistan. Nobody has asked the people of Jammu and Kashmir where we stand,” he said.
Abdullah asked the people to be united and frustrate the designs of those bent on dividing them on communal lines.
Mahatma Gandhi, he said, had seen a ray of hope in Kashmir.
“We will become the beacon of that light once again and spread across the country by upholding unity and brotherhood. Any government which oppresses its people and fails to mitigate their sufferings is bound to vanish.”
He also drew examples from the Ramayana and the Quran to make his point.
“I don’t know whether I will live till that day but I am sure the time will come when the government indulging in atrocities will witness divine intervention,” Abdullah said.
“The people want it to happen immediately but god has his own plans and so we have to keep patience.”
He hit out at the Congress for their “studied silence” on the issue of the abrogation of Article 370.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police has registered two cases against medical students under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for celebrating Pakistan’s victory over India in Sunday’s match.
The cases have been registered against students in hostels at Srinagar’s Government Medical College in Karan Nagar and SKIMS Soura, officials said.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday accused the Centre of resorting to “vindictive” action against Kashmiri youth and said such steps will “alienate them further” after cases were registered against some students here for celebrating Pakistan’s victory over India in a T20 international cricket match.
Two cases have been registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against medical students living in hostels in Government Medical College and SKIMS Soura.
Reacting to it, the PDP president said the Centre should instead have tried to ascertain why the educated youth choose to identify with Pakistan.
“HMs (Union Home Minister Amit Shah) ‘Mann ki baat’ with Kashmiri youth started with slapping UAPA against medical students for celebrating Pakistan’s win. Instead of trying to ascertain why educated youth choose to identify with Pakistan, GOI resorting to vindictive actions. Such steps will alienate them further,” the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said on Twitter.
Shah was on a four-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir Youth at many places, including the students at these two hostels, celebrated Pakistan’s victory over arch-rivals India in the T20 played in Dubai on Sunday.
Three engineering students from Kashmir were suspended by a college in Agra for allegedly posting a WhatsApp status praising Pakistan players after victory against India in a cricket match two days ago.
Local leaders of the BJP youth wing have also lodged a complaint against them at the Jagdishpura police station.
The students belonged to Raja Balwant Singh Engineering Technical Campus in Bichpuri.
SP (City) Agra Vikas Kumar said police had received a complaint about it and will take action on the basis of the complaint.
The college administration suspended the students on Monday.
Dr Pankaj Gupta, director of administration and finance at the institute, said the students were suspended with immediate effect.
“The students were studying under the Prime Minister Super Special Scheme. We have also apprised the PM office and AICTE of the students’ act. However, students have apologised,” Dr Gupta added.
Meanwhile, local head of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, Shailu Pandit, told reporters, “On Tuesday at 3 pm, I was informed by students of RBS Engineering College, Bichpuri, that there were three students who had raised slogans like ‘Bharat tere tukde honge’ and ‘Pakistan zindabad’. They also shared such posts on social media.”
“After that, I along with youth BJP leader Gaurav Rajawat, reached the college campus and enquired about the activity,” said Pandit.
Shailu said the college authorities told them that they have suspended three students.
“Thereafter, I informed police and lodged a complaint against the students involved in the anti-national activity,” he said.
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