Guru’s village stays away from vote Baramulla, May 07 | There was eerie calm in Muhammad Afzal Guru’s village on the day North Kashmir was scheduled to vote for the Lok Sabha elections. Ignoring elections, around two dozen people were busy with their routine work in their field. Parliament attack convict Muhammad Afzal Guru was secretly executed and buried in New Delhi’s Tihar prison on February 9, 2013. His execution shocked and angered Kashmir people. Guru was the resident of Doabgah, which is around 5 kilometers from Sopore town in north Kashmir. At polling booth number 89 Ghat Seer Jageer, no vote was cast out of 468 votes in the booth. The booth was secured by government forces. There was no agent of any regional or national political party. Even, mock polling was done by polling staff itself. Some youth, who were standing 500 meters away from the booth, throwing stones and targeting roof of the building. “Those who casted votes have betrayed blood of martyrs. They will be forgiven neither here nor hereafter,” Tabassum Guru, the wife of slain Guru, said. Tabassum was not enrolled in voters list at Ghat Seer Jageer, nor was Guru. “Our family hasn’t voted in any of the elections nor will we vote,” she added. Around 10-15 persons, after spotting a group of journalists, cornered them and shouted pro-freedom and anti-India slogans. “We won’t vote. We want freedom from India. India should get out of her mind that Kashmir is its integral part. India should see how many people in Kashmir are with it,” an angry masked man, told journalists inside Guru’s village. “India distorts figures. If there is two percent polling, it shows twenty percent,” the protesters alleged, adding: “we appeal everyone to boycott elections.” On the entrance of Guru’s village, dozens of police and paramilitary troopers were deployed while scores others were deployed near polling booth. (GNS)
Posted on: Wed, 07 May 2014 15:42:39 +0000
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