Srinagar, July 19 : The Congress party’s planned march in Srinagar, demanding the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood, was foiled by police today.
A large police contingent barricaded the Congress headquarters on Maulana Azad Road, preventing leaders and workers from proceeding with the march, according to officials.
The march was intended to culminate at the Divisional Commissioner’s office, where party leaders planned to submit a memorandum on statehood restoration to be forwarded to the government.
A heavy police deployment was visible in the area, with an armored vehicle stationed at the entrance of the Congress headquarters, effectively blocking the party’s efforts to stage the protest.
However, a large contingent of police barricaded the Congress office in Srinagar and prevented leaders and workers from proceeding and taking out the march. A heavy police deployment was made in the area, with an armoured vehicle stationed at the entrance of the Congress headquarters.
J&K Congress president Tariq Karra and AICC general secretary G.A. Mir, along with other senior leaders, were leading the protest, which was foiled by the police. Earlier, the J&K Congress president alleged that police stopped its workers and leaders from various districts en route to Srinagar.
“They are not being allowed to reach the Congress headquarters in Srinagar, from where the march was scheduled to start,” senior Congress leader Tariq Hameed Karra told reporters. “This is an undemocratic act by the administration and shows they are in a state of panic.”
Congress MLA Irfan Hafeez Lone was stopped by police near Lawaypora in Srinagar. He and his workers were not allowed to proceed.
“We want to ask the government under which law they stopped us,” Lone said.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police, which functions under the administration of the Lieutenant Governor, did not respond to the allegations of halting the protest march.
The Congress has decided to step up the campaign for restoration of statehood in Jammu and Kashmir and they are also planning to stage a sit-in at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on July 22, a day after the Monsoon Session of Parliament begins.
The protest comes just days after party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to act swiftly on restoration of statehood.
Kharge and Rahul Gandhi appealed to the Prime Minister to introduce legislation for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood in the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament.
Jammu and Kashmir was stripped of its special status and downgraded to a Union Territory on August 5, 2019, following the abrogation of Article 370. Since then, political parties have consistently been demanding restoration of statehood.
In a joint letter, the Congress leaders said that downgrading a state to a Union territory lacks precedent in independent India and reminded the Prime Minister of his promises of restoring J&K’s statehood.
The Prime Minister has “on multiple occasions, personally reiterated the government’s commitment to restoring statehood,” the letter read, pointing out at least two instances last year when PM Modi promised to restore the region’s status.
The Congress leaders said that for the past five years, the people of Jammu and Kashmir have consistently called for the restoration of full statehood, the Congress leaders said, calling their deamand both legitimate and firmly grounded in their constitutional and democratic rights.
UNI
