NEW DELHI: Seven major political parties in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday he met with the head of PDP Mehbooba Muftiresidence in Srinagar and gave a formal shape to their newly paved alliance – Popular alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) – for restoration of Article 370..
After the meeting, NC leader Farooq Abdullah He said the alliance is fighting for the restoration of a special status to Jammu and Kashmir and is an “anti-BJP platform” and not an anti-national amalgam.
What is the Declaration of the Popular Alliance for Gupkar?
On October 15, the head of the National Conference, Farooq Abdullah, announced the Declaration of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar after an all-party meeting at his residence in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
The motive behind the alliance, which includes the National Conference (NC), PDP, CPI, CPM, PC, JKPM, and ANC, is to work to restore J & K’s special status after it was revoked in 2019.
On Saturday, Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference was elected president and the head of the PDP, Mehbooba Mufti, vice president. The veteran CPM leader MY Tarigami was chosen as the coordinator, while South Kashmir’s Lok Sabha member Hasnain Masoodi would be the coordinator of the conglomerate known as the People’s Alliance for the Gupkar Declaration.
Sajjad Gani Lone of People’s Conference would be the spokesperson for the amalgam.
What is the Gupkar Declaration?
On August 4, 2019, one day before the Union government announced the abrogation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, Kashmir’s political parties, except the BJP, gathered at the residence of the president of the National Conference, Farooq Abdullah, on Gupkar Road in Srinagar. They subsequently issued a joint statement defending Article 370 which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
Since then, the joint declaration has been known as the “Gupkar Declaration”.
However, a day after this, the central government revoked the old state’s special status and forked it into two Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
One year after the repeal of Article 370, the leaders of the six political parties met again and signed the Gupkar Declaration and resolved to adhere to the 2019 declaration.
“We want the government of India to return to the people of the state the rights they had before August 5, 2019,” Farooq Abdullah said on October 15 when announcing the formation of the alliance.
He said that it is a constitutional battle to solve the political problem of Jammu and Kashmir peacefully through dialogue. “We want the political issue of the State to be resolved as quickly as possible through dialogue in a peaceful manner with all the actors involved in this problem.”
Shaping the alliance
At Saturday’s meeting, the alliance received a formal structure with Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti declared as president and vice president of the group.
The amalgam, which met for the first time after its formation, will present a white paper within a month on governance in Jammu and Kashmir for the last year since the repeal of article 370.
As a sign of defiance of the constitutional changes made by the Center regarding Jammu and Kashmir last year, the alliance adopted the flag of the old state as its symbol.
The amalgam decided to hold its next meeting after a fortnight in Jammu, followed by a convention in Srinagar on November 17.
What did the amalgam say?
After a meeting, Farooq Abdullah said that the alliance is fighting for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and is an “anti-BJP platform” and not an anti-national amalgam.
“I want to tell you that this is false propaganda from the BJP that the PAGD is anti-national. I want to tell you that this is not true. There is no doubt that it is anti-BJP, but it is not anti-national,” he told reporters.
Abdullah alleged that the BJP has tried to break the federal structure through acts such as the repeal of Article 370 and the division of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories.
“I want to tell you that this (PAGD) is not an anti-national jamaat. Our goal is for the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh to regain their rights. That is where our battle is. Our battle does not last longer than that,” he said.
Abdullah said that the BJP was propagandizing against PAGD members in Jammu and other parts of the country.
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