After a strike call for Monday in the Anantnag district on the arrival of Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, Geelani appealed for a shutdown in the valley and the Muslim-dominated areas of the Jammu region from 6 p.m. on Tuesday till Thursday evening “to open the eyes of those who use deception to entice Kashmiris to vote.”
Describing the strike as the “need of the hour,” Geelani said that it would not only strengthen the public commitment to reject pro-India politicians, but also give the pro-boycott masses time to formulate their strategy.
Hitting directly at pro-India politicians, Geelani, said that they were deceiving people, and in their quest for power were incapable of understanding how far cultural aggression had progressed in the state and the educational system had been disrupted.
“There is a complete ban on religion in the state, and use of alcohol has become common,” he said. ]
“People here are deliberately being kept away from religious and moral values to promote waywardness,” he said.
“The need of the hour is that people see through these plots, and reject such politics by standing up against it,” he said.
Appealing for a total boycott of the parliamentary elections, Geelani said that every member of the society was duty-bound to stand shoulder-to-shoulder to make it clear not only to India but to the entire world that Kashmiris were not in favour of these elections.
Geelani asked transporters, traders, employees and other sections of the society to be a part of the shutdown and fulfill their role.
“By their silent protests and sacrifice of one-day business people should awaken the sense that Kashmiris are under military occupation for the past 62 years, and during this long period every individual has realized that nothing of value to them is safe in this slavery,” he said.
“The grip of oppressive forces on our material resources is being tightened, our lands are being transferred to non-state individuals and institutions in the name of lease, out culture and civilization are under ungodly invasion, and education, media, individual and collective relationships, morality, religion and human values are being trampled upon,” he said.
He said that in view of the sensitivity of the situation he had convened the meeting of the majlis-e-shura, the Hurriyat (G)’s highest decision-making body, at his residence today where it had been decided to call for a 50-hour shutdown in the valley and the Muslim-dominated areas of Jammu.
He said that members unable to attend because of arrests and detentions were contacted on phone, and the final decision on the strike taken.
Geelani has already called for a strike on April 30, May 7 and May 13 in connection with the boycott call for parliamentary elections.
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