Srinagar: The General Secretary of Communist Party of India (Marxist) Sitaram Yechury, on Thursday, stressed the need for a broader secular front to strengthen secular and democratic forces in the country which, he argued, has also lost an independent foreign policy to the US interests.
"It is important that all the secular forces should unite to save the country and the constitution and for that Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) has to be isolated and defeated. The secular forces have to be strengthened and a broader secular front is the need of the hour," Yechury said in a press conference in Srinagar at the residence of CPI(M) M Y Tarigami.
The senior politician lashed out at the Modi government for its foreign policy, which Yechury argued, has become subservient to US interests and a retreat from India’s traditional independent position. Yechury said that India has been reduced to a “junior partner” of the US’ global strategic concern. “India is now completely aligned with the American foreign policy. The Modi government is involved in the American strategic and military alliances whether its QUAD or Indo-Pacific or regional joint military exercises or defense purchases – their relationship has been cemented,” he said.
In the wake of the Ukraine war, Yechury said, there is a ‘dilemma’ but, the point is that India’s independent foreign policy which commanded a position and was respected in the world has been “damaged”. The communist leader, who was in the Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital to attend the party’s 12th J&K state conference, also demanded an early hearing of the petition in the Supreme Court (SC) challenging the abrogation of Article 370 by New Delhi on August 5, 2019.
At the party event held in Srinagar on Wednesday, the CPI (M) adopted a resolution that stated that the overall situation in Jammu and Kashmir has gone downhill since the BJP government’s August move. “While this brazen assault dismantled the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir, it also seriously undermined the relationship between the people of the State and Union. This authoritarian move has pushed the people further to the wall,” the party resolution read.
"If Amit Shah says Article 370 was revoked for development of J&K, then why aren't they revoking Article 371 in Himachal Pradesh for the development of that state. This revoking of Article 370 was never for development," said CPI (M) leader M Y Tarigami who accompanied Yechury. The leader also condemned the recently released controversial movie “The Kashmir Files” made on the killings and displacement of Kashmiri Hindus from the valley. He said that it was not only Kashmir Pandits who suffered but also victims from other communities like Muslims and Sikhs also bore the brunt, which is a deliberate omission projected in the film.
Tarigami called for setting up a commission to investigate what happened to Muslims, Pandits, Sikhs, and other communities in J&K on the lines of The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) set up by the Government of National Unity to help deal with what happened under apartheid. “Let the government open bigger Kashmir Files, we will not allow the government to divide people," Tarigami said.
