Leaders of the valley centric political parties have sharply reacted to the UP government framing sedition charges against the Kashmiri students who celebrated Pakistan’s win in the recent T-20 cricket against India and described it as “victimization of these poor kids”.

Former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti have demanded the immediate release of these students who have been taken into custody by the police in Agra.

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah claimed that the college authorities have given these students a clean chit and confirmed they didn’t shout any slogans. Rather than taking the college assurance at face value, the UP police is victimising these poor kids, he tweeted.

PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti described the “crackdown” on Kashmiri students both within J&K and outside as “reprehensible”. The situation in J&K after two years of “suppression” should’ve been an eye-opener for the Government of India and led to course correction. “BJP’s pseudo patriotism disregards the idea of India”, she tweeted and sought immediate release of these students.

Peoples Conference (PC) on Friday flayed the knee-jerk reaction of the UP government to invoke severe charges against the Kashmiri students in Agra, terming such measures a “blatant violation of constitutional rights and an overreach”.

In a statement, a PC spokesman said that slapping such charges is a “blatant violation of constitutional rights and one size fits all punitive measures will be counterproductive in the long run”. “These students at the best need counselling rather than being charged under laws meant for serious offences damaging the integrity of the country and posing an imminent threat to public order. Punitive actions and harsh measures will further alienate young Kashmiris.

He said that slapping of charges against the Kashmiri students studying outside the state is fraught with dangerous consequences as such actions will not only further the mistrust but will also deepen the wedge between Kashmir and other parts of the country. “States can’t afford to indulge in knee jerk reactions. States are defined by magnanimity and we hope the state of UP shows magnanimity which incidentally is a rarity with that government”, he added.