Srinagar, Kashmir (December 06, 2013): All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee (APSCC) has asked the people to rise above political ideologies and beliefs and safeguard their interests in light of the privileges accorded to them by Article 370 of the Constitution of India.
In a statement, APSCC Chairman, Jagmohan Singh Raina said that it is the duty and responsibility of all the individuals to ensure that there is no more dilution in Article 370 that gives special status to the people living in Jammu & Kashmir. He said that dilution has already been taken in this regard and people should fight against further such dilution.
“People of the state living in Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh have to rise to the occasion so that there is no more dilution of Article 370. The Article gives a special position to the state and such people living in the state have this duty to safeguard their own interests. There is no scope for politics on this issue as this concern the larger spectrum of population of the state,” said Raina.
The APSCC chairman said that Sikhs who are a minority in the state would work shoulder to shoulder with the majority in their fight to safeguard their interests. He added that Sikhs have been in close liaison with the members of majority community on every issue and same holds true with the issue concerning the special status of the state.
“People living in different parts of India are not aware about the Article 370 and its importance in Jammu & Kashmir. There is a need to bring about awareness and same is possible only when we raise a joint voice in this regard. Once people are made aware about Article 370 then those talking against it would automatically shut their mouth,” said Raina.
Referring to the statement of Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah that BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narinder Modi did not say anything about Kashmiri Pandits in his speech at Jammu almost a week back, APSCC chairman said that Omar has forgotten the Sikh community who are a minority in the state. He said problems and issues confronting Sikhs have remained un-resolved and there seems to be no light at the end of tunnel for them.