Jammu: Lone CPI(M) MLA, Mohammad Tusuf Tarigami, on Thursday demanded land and jobs rights for the residents of Jammu and Kashmir as were guaranteed by the erstwhile Dogra Maharaja Hari Singh.
He said this in the Assembly during the discussion on the motion of thanks on the Lt. Governor’s address.
Tarigami said the original constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir should be restored, and there was no example in Independent India when a state was reduced to the level of a union territory.
“This is important to protect the interests of the people,” he said
He also opposed the remarks made in the House on Wednesday by BJP MLA and Leader of Opposition Sunil Kumar Sharma regarding the restoration of July 13 holiday as the ‘Martyrs Day’.
He said he regretted the remarks made by the BJP leader as Tarigami said, “Knowing history is very important for my colleagues in the Assembly”.
The CPI(M) MLA said the Dogra rule in J&K came into being in 1846 by virtue of the Treaty of Amritsar when Kashmir, with its 5,000-year-old history, was ‘sold by the British’.
He also referred to the supreme sacrifice made by Bhagat Singh, who fought against British rule in India. In the same breath, Tarigami criticised the BJP for what he called ‘undermining the legacy of Dogra rulers and the struggles of historical figures like Zorawar Singh.
He questioned the rationale behind the separation of Ladakh from Jammu and Kashmir. “Why was Ladakh separated from Jammu and Kashmir? This is the question I ask the BJP,” he said.
The BJP MLAs responded to Tarigami, saying that Ladakh was separated from J&K due to the discontent of the region with the Kashmir administration.
Tarigami demands job, land rights
