Release political detainees on R-day: former ministers urge govt

Only PDP president has power to expel anyone: Mir

JAMMU: Two prominent Kashmiri leaders on Thursday advocated the release of all political detainees, including three former chief ministers, as a goodwill gesture on the Republic day.
Ghulam Hassan Mir and Mohammad Dilawar Mir, both former ministers, also demanded the restoration of broadband services to mediapersons and traders besides compensation to those involved in the agriculture and horticulture sectors.
"The country is celebrating the Republic Day (January 26) and the tradition has been the release of some detainees. Even some convicted persons used to get relief in the country on the occasion," they said.
"People are in preventive detention and it would be good if all of them, including the former chief ministers, are released as a goodwill gesture," Hassan, who is the president of the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Party Nationalist, told reporters here.
He said some of the people, who are lodged in jails outside the Union Territory, should be brought back if their detention is imperative on security reasons.
The duo, who was part of a group of former ministers and legislators led by Altaf Bukhari who met the Lt Governor G C Murmu early this month, also batted for the restoration of broadband services to mediapersons and businessmen.
"At a time when the country is celebrating the Republic Day, the people of Jammu and Kashmir should be freed from the curb. We want to live a normal life," Hassan said.
Referring to their meeting with the Lt Governor on January 7, Hassan said the delegation submitted a memorandum on socio-political and economic interests of people.
"After our meeting, we noticed some positive headway on some of our demands like the release of some political leaders and the youth lodged in outside jails," he said.
"The restoration of the Internet is the demand from both regions of Kashmir and Jammu and it should be made fully functional," he said, adding reports of the restoration of the facility in Kashmir is not a reality.
Mohammad Dilawar Mir, former General Secretary of PDP, was among eight party leaders expelled from the PDP for going "against the will of the people" by engaging in parleys with Murmu on January 9.
Mir said nobody has the power to expel him from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) except the president and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti who is under detention in Srinagar.
Besides Mir, the others expelled PDP leaders include Rafi Ahmad Mir, Zaffar Iqbal, Abdul Majeed Padroo, Raja Manzoor Khan, Javaid Hussain Baig, Qamar Hussain and Abdul Rahim Rather -- all former MLAs.
"I am still in PDP and nobody has the power to expel me except the party president who is under detention. Nobody can take such a decision in her absence," Mir told reporters.
However, Mir said he is addressing a press conference in his individual capacity and not as a PDP leader.
"Who has the power to expel us from the party when our president and vice president Abdul Rehman Veeri is under detention. What was the justification for our expulsion because we met the Lt Governor to raise the public issues," Mir said.
In a statement on January 9, the PDP had said, "in view of the development post August 5 and the unilateral move of the government of India which has violated the will and hurt the sentiments of people, it has come to the attention of the party that certain party leaders have been part of the parleys which go against the interests of the state, official position and core beliefs of the party.
"The party disciplinary committee has recommended the expulsion of all these leaders from the basic membership of the party," the PDP statement had said.
The two leaders also asked the Union government to tell the positives that have emerged following the scrapping of the special status of J-K in August last year.
In response to a question on the week-long public outreach programme by the BJP, he said, "We should not feel obsessed with it. If they have come on a visit, it is good and they will themselves see the ground situation. The question will be raised what they have done after their visit."
On the possibility of assembly elections, he said it is premature to talk about it at the moment because the assembly seats have to be increased in accordance with the reorganisation act.
"Unless the delimitation commission is set and its report is submitted and accepted, the talk of elections is not right."