NEW DELHI, May 31 (DNA): Justification of the abrogation of the special
status of Jammu and Kashmir and endorsement of the controversial
Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
during his address to the nation on Saturday drew strong criticism with
some political analysts saying Modi’s speech could trigger more anger in
Kashmir.
While commenting on the Modi’s address, the critics called the
assertions as a brazen attempt to deny the reality and further the
Hindutva agenda at a time when India should more be focusing on
mitigating the sufferings of the Kashmiri people and overcoming great
economic and health crises inside India and Jammu and Kashmir.
“Sadly, Modi lives in deep denial, and we are supposed to get used to
this denial of reality,” Siddiq Wahid, a Kashmiri professor at
Dadri-based Shiv Nadar University, told an Arab daily, adding that the
speech could trigger “more anger in Kashmir.”
“Kashmir is headed for more conflict — both domestic and international —
and anger. It is headed for more alienation,” he added.
Modi’s speech nearly two months after the lockdown is seen by political
analysts as a “brazen attempt to insult the sensibilities of the
people.”
Urmilesh, a Delhi-based political analyst and columnist who takes only
one name said that Modi’s actions in India and Kashmir had weakened
democratic credentials in the country. “Never before has democracy in
India looked so weak and as besieged as it is looking now. The action in
Kashmir and the citizenship legislation weaken the democratic
credentials of this nation. It’s unfortunate the prime minister openly
peddles such divisive agenda.”
The Modi’s address to the nation comes a day after India’s economic
growth was shown to have fallen steeply to 4.2 percent in 2019-20 from
6.1 percent in 2018-19.
“The economy has been doing badly since 2016. It was growing negatively
in the last two years due to lack of growth in the unorganized sector,”
Prof. Arun Kumar of the New Delhi-based Jawaharlal Nehru University
said. DNA
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