The Congress party has remained most vocal on the demand for restoration of statehood and had planned a mega march in Srinagar today.
Former Congress state president and party MLA from Dooru, G A Mir, managed to drive a distance of few minutes from his Srinagar residence near airport, to the party office at M A Road. But many of his workers who wanted to come from southern parts of Kashmir and be the part of a protest march for restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir couldn’t make it and informed the leader that they were stopped by police.
This came within days of Congress MP and Leader of Opposition (LoP), Rahul Gandhi, and party national president Mallikarjun Kharge writing a joint letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to bring legislation in the upcoming Monsoon session of Parliament to grant full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and include the Union Territory of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
The Parliament session is scheduled to begin on July 21 and the Congress party is also planning to take out a protest march in Delhi ahead of the Parliament session for restoration of statehood.
G A Mir said that he along with several of party leaders tried to move out on the double-lane tarmac road to proceed to the office of Divisional Commissioner to submit a memorandum in favour of statehood demand, but were prevented by police which locked up the large iron gate of the party headquarter.
“ We were not allowed to take out a protest. Several of workers who wanted to come from different corners of Kashmir were either detained or turned back. Several of our workers were turned back from Pampore junction and they couldn’t take part in the march in city,” said Mir.
Congress MLA from Bandipora, Nizam-u-din Bhat, said that as soon as they assembled at the party office and were planning to take out a peaceful protest march to the Divisional Commissioner’s office, police locked the main gate of the party headquarter and didn’t allow the workers and leaders to proceed ahead.
“ We have already been raising our demand seeking the restoration of statehood and part of the process was also to bring it before the notice of government by submitting a memorandum to the Divisional Commissioner,” said Bhat.
Congress party has organised a series of protests in Jammu region for the restoration of statehood.
“ We organised a protest demanding the restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. The ‘Hamari Riyasat Hamara Haq’ campaign, a movement of the Congress party, has reached every nook and corner of J&K over the past nine months. Today, the police administration—controlled by the BJP—locked down the JKPCC headquarters in Srinagar and arrested several party workers enroute to the protest. Given that it was a peaceful demonstration, such a blatant attack on democracy through the arrest of non-violent protesters is unacceptable. What is the BJP government so afraid of?,” Congress said.
“Jammu and Kashmir Police’s authoritarian mishandling of Congress MLAs, stopped from marching for J&K statehood, is a shameful attack on democracy. Elected voices are being brutally curbed. We demand justice and restoration of our rights, as promised by Parliament & directed by Supreme Court. This oppression won’t silence us,” said Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) President, Tariq Hameed Karra.
Congress' Plan For 'Chalo Delhi' To Demand Statehood
The Congress' Jammu and Kashmir unit on July 17 announced a series of protests, including the 'Chalo Delhi' campaign, from this week and also planned to "symbolically gherao" Parliament as part of its intensified push for statehood restoration.
The party claimed that it was "impossible" to restore Jammu and Kashmir's statehood without its intervention, which has the support of 233 INDIA bloc members.
National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Friday congratulated the Congress for writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
Asked if the Centre will restore the statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, the former chief minister said it was the right of the people.
