New Delhi, July 24: Baramulla Member of Parliament Engineer Rashid on Friday staged a protest in the Lok Sabha over the recent mass detentions and demolition of residential houses in Kashmir following the killing of a Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel in Anantnag.
As the House assembled, Er Rashid entered the Well of the House and raised slogans against what he described as large-scale detentions and the demolition of residential houses in the Valley.
The protest coincided with demonstrations by the Opposition, led by Rahul Gandhi, over the NEET issue and its demand for the resignation of the Union Education Minister. During the proceedings, Er Rashid criticised both the NDA and INDIA alliances, alleging that the concerns of the people of Jammu and Kashmir were being ignored.
According to Er Rashid, he urged Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi to stand with the people of Kashmir, to which Gandhi responded that he would do so.
Speaking outside Parliament, Er Rashid said he sympathised with the family of police personnel Ashiq Hussain Qureshi, who was killed in the Anantnag attack, but questioned the reported detention of thousands of people and demolition of residential houses in its aftermath.
“We feel the pain of the family of the policeman. But how can the arrest of thousands of people and the bulldozing of residential houses be justified?” he said, alleging that Kashmiris were being subjected to collective punishment.
He further alleged that people in Jammu and Kashmir were being denied democratic rights and questioned what he described as different standards in the handling of similar situations in different parts of the country. He also criticised the use of force against protesters in New Delhi and drew comparisons with the situation in Kashmir.
When the House reassembled later in the day, Er Rashid again raised the issue and also referred to the death of an auto driver, Arif Hussain, in Bhaderwah, seeking a response from Union Minister of State Dr. Jitendra Singh. [KNT
