Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (JKPDP) president Mehbooba Mufti. File
| Photo Credit: ANI

People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti Thursday (October 31, 2024) said the Union Territory Foundation Day is a “black day” for the people of Jammu and Kashmir as it marks “disenfranchisement and not development”.

J&K Congress president Tariq Hameed Karra also termed the foundation day as a “black day” and said that expecting the people to celebrate it is “asking for too much”.

The Lieutenant Governor administration on Thursday celebrated the fifth foundation day of J&K UT.

“What has happened to J&K has not happened anywhere before. I want to tell the L-G that for the people of J&K, and especially for the PDP, today is a black day and we will see it as a black day till J-K’s special privileges are not restored,” Ms. Mufti told reporters in Pulwama.

The former Chief Minister said her party will continue “its struggle till Kashmir issue is not resolved to establish peace with dignity”.

“I hope the newly elected government will take along all the people and struggle to take J&K out of the present situation,” she added.

Later, in a statement, Ms. Mufti said October 31 is not a day of celebration for the people of J-K.

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“The party firmly rejects this date as the so-called ‘Foundation Day’ of the Union Territory. It fails to represent the will, identity, and aspirations of the people of J-K,” she said.

Ms. Mufti emphasized that the imposition of Union Territory status on J-K was not a progressive step, but “rather an unjust act of disenfranchisement”.

“The conversion of our historically significant and autonomous state into a Union Territory, without the consent of its people, is not a symbol of development but a blatant erasure of our Statehood and special status,” she said.

The abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A, which occurred on August 5, 2019, removed constitutional safeguards that had long protected the unique identity, rights, and resources of J-K, she said.

“These articles were the bulwark of our autonomy, culture, and distinct character. The unilateral removal of these provisions stripped away our ability to govern ourselves and protect our resources, leaving our future dictated by centralized control,” the PDP president said.

She pointed out this is not the development the government claims it to be, but a “systematic disenfranchisement” that “deprives” the region’s citizens of their fundamental rights and self-determination.

The valley-based mainstream political parties criticised the L-G administration for celebrating UT Foundation Day and skipped the event.

The ruling National Conference did not attend the event, nor did People’s Conference leader Sajad Gani Lone and CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, who said the administration went ahead with the programme despite people “clearly voting” against it.

Pradesh Congress Committee president Karra said, “For the people of Jammu and Kashmir, it is a black day. If you think people are going to celebrate it, you are asking for too much.”

The PCC president was responding to a question on why Congress leaders did not attend the Union Territory Foundation Day event organised by the L-G administration.

He said the Congress will not be part of any event that celebrates the mockery of the Constitutional set-up.

“It is not just the opinion of Congress party but all the people who have been affected by this mockery,” he added.