In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, thousands of people, including women and children, continued their protests in Kunjwani-Bhatindi area on the outskirts of Jammu city against the eviction drive by the authorities. Members of Jammu Kashmir Kissan Tehreek, led by senior leader of Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) M Y Tarigami, staged a protest in Kathua against the eviction drive.

“The land in question is under the occupation of people for generations and there is no justification in the eviction drive which is just to harass the public and deviate their attention from the real issues,” Tarigami said. He said the people of Kashmir need to come together against the anti-people policies of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government to safeguard the future of the coming generations.

“They have taken away our constitutional rights, our statehood and are now bent upon to take away our land. They are polarizing the situation to pitch people of different regions and sub-regions against each other,” he said, asking the people to take a cue from the people of Ladakh who have joined hands to press for statehood and constitutional safeguards for their land and jobs. National Conference leader Rattan Lal Gupta said the eviction drive has led to chaotic situations all across the territory with people getting frightened over the uncertainty about their future.

Senior leader of Aam Aadmi Party and Harsh Dev Singh regretted that the indigent farmers, labourers and other landless people were being dispossessed of their marginal land holdings. He claimed that while the BJP leaders were left untouched, the government had launched a full-scale eviction drive against the “poor”, creating massive resentment amongst the common masses.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP