Source: patnadaily.com
Patna: While the majority of Bihar, along with the nation, was celebrating the cancellation of Article 370 and Article 35A in Jammu & Kashmir, non-NDA parties, and Janata Dal – U which is part of the BJP-led NDA in Bihar, slammed the Modi government for its unilateral policy and ‘murdering democracy’ in India.
Former MP Pappu Yadav, the leader of Jan Adhikar Party (JAP), at a press conference in Patna on Monday, slammed the Modi-Shah duo saying the decision to scrap both articles in Jammu & Kashmir was imprudent and was done in haste by the ‘two idiots’.
“This is a clear assault on our constitution, our culture, and our democracy. The decision to scrap Article 370 and Article 35A was taken by two people who have no idea what they are doing. These two men (Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah) are hell-bent on destroying the nation from within and it is not unreasonable to ask why they have taken the route to dictatorship,” Yadav said.
Communist Party of India-ML general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya also, in a press release, slammed the Modi-Shah team for removing the two Articles and dividing the state into two without any consultation from other parties.
“Never before in the history of India such attempt has been made to trash the constitution. However, in this moment of crisis, the entire nation is with the people of Kashmir and nationwide protest will be organized to oppose this dangerous step taken by the NDA government,” the communist leader said while demanding the restoration of Article 370 and 35A without any delay and removal of all troops from the region.
Former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi also opposed the move in Kashmir saying the draconian decision was taken when the Modi government was ‘under influence of alcohol’.
“This is pure and simple dictatorship and cannot be described any other way. I urge Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to step forward and do the right thing in this regard,” he said.
Though Kumar, who has been a staunch opponent of removal of Article 370 and 35A in Jammu & Kashmir, is yet to make a formal statement in this regard, other members of his party including K C Tyagi and Shyam Rajak have already voiced their anger over BJP’s sudden move.
“We have never favored what the BJP has done today and we will continue to oppose it in the coming days,” said Tyagi.