The Centre’s tackling of protests against chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar in Delhi is a reminder of the treatment people of Kashmir have faced over years, National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah said on Saturday, asserting that “suppressing” the voice of the opposition, and denying people the right to raise legitimate concerns, “undermines” the spirit of democracy.
An unprecedented security clampdown and the detention of over 7,000 protesters, including CJP leader Abhijit Dipke, four former chief ministers and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, helped the government thwart a planned mass mobilisation at Jantar Mantar on Saturday to press for the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar. Former J&K CM and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti took a dig at the Centre over the police crackdown in New Delhi, saying it reminds her of Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
In a statement issued here, Farooq said good governance and effective administration require a strong, active and empowered opposition that can highlight public grievances and hold the government accountable. “The role of the opposition in a democracy is not confined to criticism alone, but also includes representing public aspirations, reviewing government policies and safeguarding constitutional and democratic values,” he said. Expressing concern over the alleged use of “intimidation, pressure and excessive force to silence dissenting voices and create an atmosphere of fear”, the NC chief said the approach being adopted to “suppress” people’s voices in the capital reminds one of the “treatment that people of Kashmir have faced over the years”.
“A strong democratic system rests on freedom of expression, respect for differing opinions, public participation and institutional accountability.
The former chief minister said “suppressing” the voice of the opposition, refusing to tolerate dissent and denying people the right to raise legitimate concerns “undermines” the spirit of democracy and renders claims of good governance “meaningless”. Any departure from these fundamental principles is detrimental to democracy,” he said.
