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Mirwaiz interrupted at Kolkata seminar, BJP justifies Chandigarh attack
Bikash Chakorbatty / Ashish Mehra
Agence India Press
November 28, 2010
Kolkata / New Delhi: Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq today faced protests by members of BJP's student wing who hurled eggs at his vehicle and diplayed banners, in Kolkata prompting police to arrest 25 of them, three days after he was heckled by right-wing activists in Chandigarh.
Mirwaiz was coming out of an auditorium after attending a seminar on 'Kashmir- A Way Out' when members of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), who were holding banners and shoes tied to a stick, threw eggs at his car, besides shouting slogans.
The Hurriyat leader was whisked away by security personnel as he moved out from the building where the seminar was organised by the Centre for Peace and Progress.
According to Agence India Press reporter, Mirwaiz, addressing a seminar at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kolkata, said that Kashmir is a disputed land and the Indian government should realize the strong sentiments of 'Azadi' of the people of the Valley.
"You cannot move forward until and unless you address the core issue. The core issue is not development, the core issue is not economic packages. The core issue is the strong sentiments of freedom of Kashmir, the strong sentiments of the people of Kashmir who want Azadi. We want a solution'," the Mirwaiz said.
"On one side they are saying that they want a dialogue and on the other hand they are arresting young boys of Kashmir, detaining young students. The government itself has said that infiltration has come down then why are there so many troops still present in the valley. Why are the black laws not yet withdrawn? Why is the government using force in the Valley," asked the Mirwaiz.
"Dialogue has to be meaningful; they should realize the sentiments of the people of Kashmir. We had proposed a few things in 2004. We had said repeal the black laws, remove the bunkers and watch towers, release the political prisoners and that there should be accountability of human rights. But none of these things have been addressed so far," he said.
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party today justified the action of its workers during the visit of the Mirwaiz Umar Farooq to the Chandigarh for a conference on the Kashmir problem. The party criticized the UT Administration and the police for allegedly facilitating separatists.
Addressing a press conference today, president of the city unit Sanjay Tandon questioned how the Administration could give permission to such people to hold conferences. "Our people were beaten up. Their complaints should also be heard.
Police are supporting the separatists and torturing nationalists. There should be a probe against Internationalist Democratic Party that organised the conference, its background and the people running it. It needs to be probed who is funding and their accounts should be sealed," said Tandon. (AIP)
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