PDP legislator Waheed Parra says MLAs in J&K assembly fighting India’s war in Kashmir, their security cannot be compromised
Para said party leader and former Chief Minister of J&K Mehbooba Mufti was evicted from her official residence after August 5, 2019, which amounted to “attempted murder” as she was currently staying at a distant house of her relative who was on “militant movement route”.
While condemning the recent attack on J&K’s former chief minister Farooq Abdullah, the PDP MLA urged the government to make a course correction and seriously consider reducing the security detail of legislators and leaders like Tariq Karra of the Congress and Sajad Lone of the People’s Conference. He said the attack on Abdullah reflected the “security breakdown” in J&K.
“Security in J&K is an insurance. We are the people fighting in India’s war in Kashmir. The 90 MLAs of this assembly are fighting like a force of seven lakh. Security should not be politicized and this assembly should seriously consider these issues,” Para said during the ongoing budget session of the J&K assembly in the winter capital Jammu. He said security was a non-negotiable necessity in J&K.
“Mehboobaji was evicted from her official residence after August 5, 2019 and even today she does not have a house of her own. Denying the former CM security and right to safe residence is also an attempt to murder. We have requested this government to allocate her a safe residence to which she is entitled,” said Parra, adding, “This government has not taken any steps for this. We can complain to the BJP when this government will make some course corrections.”
Para questioned the government on issuing a notice to Sajad Lone to vacate his official residence and reduce Karra’s security and asked the Prime Minister to explain the logic behind such decisions.
Lone, meanwhile, also condemned the attack on Abdullah, drawing a direct and painful parallel to the assassination of his own father, Abdul Gani Lone, demanding accountability for the political use of security. “Any government has used security for political purposes. And maybe today’s government is doing that as well. But we need to learn from that,” Lone said. He called for an unconditional commitment that security will never again be used as an instrument of political pressure.
