Police foils Cong march to Div Com office in Srinagar

Irfan Tramboo
Srinagar, July 19: Police today foiled a protest march of the Congress party aimed at reiterating and pressing for its demand for the restoration of Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir ahead of the Monsoon Session of the Parliament.
Scores of leaders and workers had gathered at the party headquarters here and were scheduled to carry out the march towards the Divisional Commissioner’s office to submit a memorandum.

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The memorandum, party leaders said, was to be further sent to the LG for onward submission to the Prime Minister, “raising the voice of people who demand the restoration of their dignity and rights.”
However, police did not allow the Congress leaders and workers to come out of the party office, while many workers from different districts, according to a party spokesperson, were prevented from reaching Srinagar.
The party said the march was “forcibly prevented” by a heavy contingent of police deployed at the gates of the Congress headquarters.
A party spokesperson said that the JKPCC President, Tariq Hameed Karra, received minor injuries during a scuffle and “use of force by police to thwart the peaceful march.”
As per the party, MLA Wagoora-Kreeri Irfan Hafeez Lone, along with Baramulla DCC President and other workers, were stopped at Narbal and not allowed to reach the party office.
Speaking with reporters ahead of the proposed march, JKPCC President Tariq Hameed Karra said that not allowing people to reach Srinagar showed the “frustration” of the administration, which, he alleged, is resorting to “undemocratic measures” to prevent a peaceful march.
Karra said that the letter sent by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi to the PM, demanding the restoration of Statehood, has the support of members from the INDIA bloc.
“The letter has the backing of 150 members of Congress in Parliament as well as the INDIA bloc of 233 members,” he said, noting that without Congress’ intervention, restoration of Statehood to J&K would be impossible.
He said the people of J&K have appreciated the ‘Hamari Riyasat Hamara Haq’ campaign, which was launched across all districts to apprise people of its motives.
“Under the intensification of this campaign, a program was to be held in Srinagar today. On July 20, it will be held in Jammu; on the 21st we will be in Delhi and will do Parliament Gherao to ensure the people’s aspirations reach the deaf and dumb Government,” he said.
AICC General Secretary G.A. Mir termed the action taken by the administration as “undemocratic” and reflective of “fear.”
“These are undemocratic measures; the Constitution gives us the right to raise our voice. They have used force and it reflects their fear. But it won’t affect us. We will do it in Jammu as well as in Delhi so that the voice reaches Parliament,” he said.
He added that ahead of the Parliament session, the INDIA bloc is scheduled to meet tomorrow to discuss national issues.
“The discussion will be held on issues such as the Pahalgam incident, the war between India and Pakistan, and the involvement of the US President Donald Trump in the overall scenario,” he said.
Mir added that the bloc would reach a consensus and hold the Government accountable during the monsoon session.
“People want the PM to break the silence. How did Trump speak about the ceasefire? We want his chair to speak.”
On Statehood, he said: “Elections have been held, there is a Government in place, a resolution has been sent from the Cabinet, and he (PM) should have acted six months ago by restoring Statehood. That would have kept the honour of his word.”
Later, the JKPCC forwarded a copy of the memorandum to the LG through mail for onward submission.

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