- Kashmiri Pandit organization “Panun Kashmir” welcomes anti-encroachment drive in Jammu and Kashmir
JAMMU: An organization of migrant Kashmiri Pandits, Panun Kashmir, has welcomed an ongoing anti-encroachment drive being carried out by the Jammu and Kashmir administration to retrieve state land. The organization’s chairman, Ajay Chrungoo, demanded the formation of a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the role of the National Conference (NC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the alleged “promotion of separatism” in the Union Territory.
While former chief ministers Omar Abdullah of the NC and Mehbooba Mufti of the PDP have voiced concerns against the drive, Panun Kashmir supports the action taken by the Jammu and Kashmir administration. According to a statement by Chrungoo, the administration’s action against illegal encroachments and constructions, particularly by top political bigwigs, should be recognized as acts of internal subversion and not just corruption.
Chrungoo alleges that political processes in Jammu and Kashmir, spearheaded by the NC and the PDP, have nourished separatism and communalism. He voices support for the anti-encroachment drive without discriminating between rich and poor, and stresses that subversion of democracy occurs when democratic space is allowed to be used for politics that violates the Constitution and the basic ideology and integrity of the country.