Dogra certificate: Geelani calls for strike on April 11

Srinagar: Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani Thursday called for a complete strike on Monday, April 11 against the imposition of property tax and what he termed a conspiracy to erase the identity of Jammu Muslims through the issuance of Dogra certificate.  In a statement issued here, Geelani flayed the government’s decision to issue Dogra certificates to residents of Jammu province, saying the move was part of a “well-planned conspiracy to erase the identity of Jammu Muslims and assimilate them into the Dogra society.”“Issuing Dogra certificates is aimed at erasing the identity of Jammu province’s 45 percent Muslim population and coerce them into accepting themselves as Dogras,” he said in a statement issued to.Geelani alleged that hardline Hindu group, Rashtriya SwayamSevak Sangh was carrying out a “hidden agenda” of dividing Jammu and Kashmir on religious and linguistic lines and erase the Muslim majority character of the state so that “when the need arises the world can be told that the independence movement is confined within a small section of population in Jammu and Kashmir.”Geelani also slammed the state’s rulers for what he accused them of being “just concerned with saving their power and position and neglecting an important issue like the issuance of Dogra certificate.”“In fact, like faithful servants, they are filling colours in the sketches of communal forces,” he said.Reacting to Minister for Revenue , Raman Bhalla’s statement that  government was ready to issue ‘Kashmiri certificate’ to Kashmiris and similar certificates to other regions, Geelani said this was meant not only to create more confusion but also threaten the geographical unity of the state and divide the state’s population on ethnic lines.“We will never allow communal forces like the RSS to take over the state and if the decision to revoke the so-called Dogra certificate is not taken soon, the responsibility would solely lie on the government’s shoulders,” he said .Condemning the imposition of property tax, Geelani said while the MLAs and ministers had ensured a double hike in their salaries, the government was pushing the common man to the wall by imposing “undue takes on him.”“Hurriyat Conference won’t remain silent over this injustice ,” he said, appealing people across the state to observe a complete shutdown on Monday and stage peaceful protests after prayers today.