New Delhi: Terming “historic” the Supreme Court order on internet ban in Kashmir, the Congress on Friday said that the entire country had been worried as it did not know the situation in Kashmir.
“That is why we had filed a petition and sought clarification,” senior lawyer and Congress Rajya Sabha member Kapil Sibal said on Friday.
Buoyed by the SC order, Sibal said that he wanted to ask home minister Amit Shah what was the urgency on Aug 4 that internet was suspended.
“I ask the home minister to listen to people. Do not just rain lathis on people,” he said.
Sibal said that the apex court order will restore free flow of information from the region.
He also said that the SC observation that prohibitory orders under CrPC Section 144 cannot be used indefinitely to suppress freedom of speech and expression and difference of opinion was “path-breaking”.
Sibal accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of trusting foreigners more than Indians.
“Why can’t he be transparent? Let us also go there. If the situation is normal we would say so,” he said on the foreign delegation which is visiting Jammu and Kashmir currently.
The Supreme Court on Friday said that internet access is a fundamental right under Article 19 of the Constitution and asked the Jammu and Kashmir administration to review within a week all curbs in the union territory.
The CPM said the Supreme Court’s judgement on the restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir belie the false claims of normalcy that the Central government has been peddling to the country and the world.
“The Supreme Court has made significant comments on the curbs on civil liberties in Jammu and Kashmir which belie the false claims of normalcy that the Central Government has been peddling to the country and the world,” the party said in a statement.
It further said the government tried to reinforce the official claims of normalcy by taking a group of foreign envoys on a “farcical” restricted tour to J&K where they were allowed to see and hear only what the government wanted them to, which is why none of them could meet the three former Chief Ministers still in jail.
