Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 21: Advocate Ankur Sharma today appealed all nationalists and peace loving citizens to join hands and vote in favour of nationalism and national security.
“The reins of power in J&K cannot be handed over to appeasers of separatism or those forming an unholy alliance with a declared objective of reactivating vestiges of separatism,” he said while addressing a press conference, here today.
Ankur Sharma said that Article 370/ 35-A was a monumental subversion of the Indian Constitution as it not only created a State within a State based upon communal lines but also manifested itself as an edifice and bedrock of separatism in J&K. Alliances, parties and individuals proclaiming to restore Article 370/35-A need to be defeated decisively, he added.
“We can’t have a constitutional provision disabling application of the Indian Constitution in the only Muslim Majority State of the Indian Union. We can’t have a Constitutional provision providing for a separate flag and a separate constitution. The idea itself is communal and defeats the fundamentals of the Indian Constitution. We cannot have a theocratic set up cloaked as a secular setup within the Secular body polity of the Nation. It would be treason of the highest order,” he stressed.
Ankur Sharma emphasised on the dire need of shifting centre of power from the separatist geography to the nationalist geography of the UT. The immediate way of ensuring this, he said, is to vote decisively in favour of nationalism.
“All seats of the nationalist geography should go to a party/individual who are fighting these elections on the issue of nationalism and are speaking openly against separatism of all forms,” he said and added that while voting, one should not lose sight of the fact that the UT is progressing in a direction where the marginalised and long ignored sections of the society namely the SC/ST, OBC, West Pakistani and PoJK Refugees and others are being empowered post Article 370 abrogation.
Answering a question as to why did he himself or the party contest elections, Ankur Sharma retorted that when the fight is between separatism and nationalism, Dharma and Adharma, national interest should prevail.