JUNE 27: Amid the ongoing political slugfest between BJP and Congress over the 1975 Emergency and allegations of authoritarianism, jailed Member of Parliament and Awami Itihaad Party (AIP) President Engineer Rashid has announced that he will observe a 24-hour hunger strike inside Tihar Jail, from 8:00 p.m. Saturday, June 28 to 8:00 p.m. Sunday, June 29, in protest of the continued denial of democratic rights to Kashmiris.
This hunger strike also seeks to highlight the deafening silence of national parties about the hundreds of Kashmiris languishing in Tihar Jail and other prisons under draconian laws like UAPA, merely for holding political beliefs.
According to AIP Chief Spokesperson Inam Un Nabi, Engineer Rashid conveyed his decision during a recent meeting with his family, asserting that the hypocrisy of both BJP and Congress in accusing each other of throttling democracy must be exposed.
“It is unfortunate that both parties are leaving no stone unturned to accuse each other of bulldozing liberty, freedom and fundamental rights during their respective regimes. Yet, both are partners in crime when it comes to snatching the constitutional, democratic and human rights of Kashmiris,” Jailed MP Er Rashid told his family.
He further remarked, “While the BJP is correctly highlighting the atrocities committed during the 1975 Emergency, it conveniently forgets how it has treated Kashmiris over the past 11 years—jailing legitimate political voices, silencing dissent and branding political belief as criminality. Congress and others, on the other hand, accuse the Modi government of imposing an undeclared emergency but remain silent about the hundreds of Kashmiris languishing in Tihar and other prisons under draconian laws like UAPA, simply for their political beliefs.”
Engineer Rashid’s hunger strike aims to remind the people of India that while heated debates rage over past and present emergencies, the continued and systematic denial of rights to Kashmiris since the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, cannot and must not be forgotten.
He has formally communicated his intention to the jail authorities regarding the proposed hunger strike.
