Centre has murdered democracy in J-K: Brinda Karat

Commenting on restrictions relaxed in parts of Jammu and Kashmir for Eid, Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Brinda Karat on Monday said that what the Central government has done in Kashmir is nothing but the murder of democracy.

"If we look at the photographs in the national newspapers, there are many people protesting and that is natural. They (Central government) try and pretend to show the rest of the country that everything is normal. What is the point of fooling yourselves? What the government has done in Kashmir is nothing but the murder of democracy," Karat told ANI.

She added: "You haven't discussed anything with me -- That is the feeling of Kashmiris. Ajit Doval going there and chatting with 2-3 people and pretending that everything is normal, this is highly insensitive. The Central government is putting salt on fresh wounds."

She also said the right-minded citizens are highly concerned about the denial of basic human democratic rights to a big section of Indians living in Kashmir.

While commenting on actor Rajinikanth's recent comments hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah as Krishna and Arjun, she said: "The believers of Krishna and Arjun will be horrified that PM Modi and Amit Shah, who are destroying democracy, are being compared with Krishna and Arjun."

Condemning Central Board of Secondary Education's (CBSE) decision to hike the fee of Class 10 and 12 board examinations for SC and ST students, Karat said: "SC/ST students are facing so many problems in the education sector. We totally condemn this move of the CBSE."

"They want to ensure that these students will not be able to compete with any CBSE based examinations. So it should be stopped immediately and withdrawn. Besides, the scholarship must be increased," she added.