'Govt move on Art 370 is murder of democracy'

New Delhi: The Left parties on Monday lashed out at the government for revoking Article 370, saying that it was the "murder of democracy" and would serve only to further "alienate" the people of the region.

The government on Monday abolished Article 370 that gives special status to J&K and moved a separate bill to bifurcate the state into two separate union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. "What the government has done is regressive and will further alienate the people of Jammu and Kashmir. This is the murder of democracy," CPI general secretary D Raja said.

The CPI(M) termed the move an "attack" on the Constitution and said the Left parties will hold a protest against the move on Monday.

"This is an attack on the Indian Constitution by scrapping Article 370 and dismantling the state of J&K. They will be led by the central leadership of these parties," the party said in a statement. It further said that through the move, the government had struck a "big blow" on democracy and the Constitution. "The people of Kashmir had acceded to India in the face of invaders from Pakistan and a solemn commitment had been made to them by the Indian State to provide them with special status and autonomy which was embodied in Article 370 ," the CPI(M) said in a statement.

"The Modi government has betrayed the people of J&K by going back on this commitment...The BJP-RSS rulers cannot tolerate any diversity and the federal principle. They are treating Jammu and Kashmir as occupied territory," it said. The statement further said that converting J&K and Ladakh into two centrally-ruled union territories was the biggest attack on national unity and the concept of India as a Union of States. Demanding that the government "end the seige in Kashmir", CPI-ML Liberation party tweeted that the government through its decision had ended the last bridge between the state and the constitution. "By effectively scrapping #Article370 and 35A, the Modi govt has burnt the constitutional & historical bridge that connected J&K with the rest of India. The govt's obsession with setting the clock back is pushing the country back into the turbulence of the 1940s," tweeted CPI-ML Liberation from its official handle. "Governance by conspiracy and coup: that's democracy under the Modi-Shah duo ploy! Like the 500 ..., Art 370 and the entire spirit of the Constitution has been junked today," it alleged.