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National Conference leaders and workers on Wednesday held a protest against the Central Government near the BJP office in Srinagar, continuing their demand for statehood for Jammu and Kashmir.
The JKNC workers and police came face to face during the protest, amid heavy security deployment around the BJP office. Earlier this month, on the anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah maintained that the National Conference will remain firmly committed to reversing all administrative and constitutional changes that stripped the region of its special rights and threatened its distinct identity. In August 2019, the Central government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, repealed Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, effectively ending the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating the state into two Union Territories - Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. In July, Omar Abdullah had also held a protest in the national capital, echoing the demand for restoration of statehood. Meanwhile, BJP leaders and workers held a protest at Ghanta Ghar, Lal Chowk, against Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's government over unemployment, price hike, and alleged corruption. The BJP leaders will proceed towards the Secretariat from here to gherao the building. BJP leader Altaf Thakur told ANI, "BJP is protesting on issues of unemployment, corruption and Panchayat elections. We will start from Ghanta Ghar, Lal Chowk, and go to the Secretariat to gherao it." Heavy security was deployed from Ghanta Ghar, Lal Chowk, to the Civil Secretariat in Srinagar. BJP has cornered the government over the recent electricity tariff hike, while Omar Abdullah has maintained that the decision was taken out of compulsion. On Tuesday, the Leader of Opposition in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Sunil Kumar Sharma, slammed NC and Omar Abdullah for calling a protest simultaneously. Sharma said, "The BJP decided to hold a protest to raise issues concerning the common people of Jammu & Kashmir--a decision announced a month ago. The primary focus of this protest is jobs for the youth. Meanwhile, the National Conference has suddenly decided today that it, too, will stage a protest. Just look at their timing. Look at how serious they are about the youth. They had sold off 25,000 jobs to contractors." "All in all, the National Conference's announcement to lay siege to BJP offices is yet another mockery of the very youth whose issues the BJP is highlighting in tomorrow's protest. I do not think this party is serious about the youth; this move is merely an attempt to cover up their past mistakes," he added. (ANI)
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