New Delhi, October 05, 2019 (PPI-OT): The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) General Secretary, Sitaram Yechury, has said that the election for Block Development Council (BDC) to be held on October 24 in occupied Kashmir, which is in a state of lockdown, is a travesty of democracy. Following the party’s three-day central committee meeting, Sitaram Yechury told media in New Delhi that the situation in Kashmir was far from normal despite the Indian government and the BJP claiming the opposite.
“Even CPI-M Central Committee member, Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami was not granted permission to attend the meeting of the Central Committee, though the authorities claimed in the Supreme Court that he is not under detention. This shows that all the claims that so-called normalcy exists in the valley is against the ground realities,” Yechury said.
He added, even after two months of the decision by the India government to repeal Kashmir’s special status, the clampdown on communications continues, public transport is off the roads, schools and other educational institutions remain closed, shops and other business establishments continue to remain shut. He hit out at the election authorities for announcing the BDC elections at such a time. “This is a travesty of democracy with the sole intention of portraying to the world that normalcy prevails,” he added.
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