Srinagar: National Conference Spokesman Junaid Azim Mattu has said that National Conference condemns the harassment and humiliation of voters in Sopore and Baramulla by miscreants. “We strongly condemn the brazen vigilante scanning of people by goons in Sopore and Baramulla and the subsequent physical assault and humiliation meted out to those who had voting marks on their fingers”, Mattu said.
Demanding stern punishment to the culprits, Mattu said “This brazen, fascist assault on innocent fellow Kashmiris by goons and glorified hooligans in North Kashmir underlines everything that is wrong with separatist politics in the Valley. While they have a right to appeal for an election boycott, citizens have an equally sacred right to defy that appeal and exercise their right to vote. How can you demand that your right to boycott should be respected when you do not respect the right of others to disagree with you and vote? Why this inherent hypocrisy?”
Junaid Mattu said that certain political quarters in the State had glorified anarchy, hooliganism and vandalism under the fig-leaf of the political sentiment. “Those who parade elders in broad daylight, slap them and tear their clothes off cannot represent anything but anarchy and madness. The separatist leaders, either through their glorious statements or through their inglorious silence have given a certain amount of legitmacy to anarchy and vandalism in the Valley. Their condemnations are selective, if not quantitatively but certainly in terms of the stark qualitative contrast between condemnations to such acts committed by security forces and acts committed by such glorified goons”, Junaid Mattu said.
Junaid Mattu said that National Conference speaks up for the rights of the people of this State irrespective of their political ideologies or leanings. “Every single citizen of J&K – those who vote as well as those who dont vote – have equal rights to dignity and liberty. No power on earth will be allowed to victimize people of J&K based on their political leanings and ideologies. People have a right to not vote and it is also a fact that people have an equal right to vote. Both rights need to be safeguarded for upholding if not the spirit of democracy but at least the spirit of human civility”, Mattu added. (GNS)