PDP Protests Ban on Mobile Phones in J&K
Protesting centre’s decision to withdraw prepaid mobile phone services, Kashmir’s Opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) activists headed by president Mehbooba Mufti undertook a peaceful march to Lal Chowk.
Talking to reporters, Mufti said that the decision casts a shadow of doubt on the entire ten million population of the state.
It may be mentioned that the Union Home Ministry, following reports of mobiles being misused by separatist guerrillas, withdrew prepaid mobile phone facilties from Jammu and Kashmir.
The centre’s decision has a bearing on nearly four million subscribers in the state and resulted in more than 20, 000 people losing their livelihood.
Minister for new and renewable energy Farooq Abdullah of the state’s ruling National Conference has also criticised the decision, saying that it was tantamount to treating every citizen of the state as a “militant”.
However, home minister P Chidambaram, who visited the state’s winter capital Jammu on Wednesday, told reporters that the decision had been taken after careful examination of its security implications.
“The people will have to trust my judgement in this regard. We are trying to find out a method to reconcile the needs of the subscribers and the security requirements in this regard,” he said, defending the decision.
