200 protesting Congress leaders, workers detained in Jammu
Jammu Tawi, July 19: In a major protest for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, JKPCC President Tariq Hameed Karra, AICC General Secretary G.A. Mir, Working President Raman Bhalla, and over 200 senior leaders and workers were detained by police today during a Congress-led march from Shaheedi Chowk to Raj Bhawan.
The protestors, raising slogans like “Hamari Riyasat Hamara Haq,” clashed with police at Shaheedi Chowk after being stopped by barricades. A scuffle ensued as they attempted to move towards Residency Road and Raghunath Bazar. Many protestors, including senior leaders, were bundled into police buses and taken to DPL Jammu. Karra and a few others managed to reach Raghunath Bazar before being detained.
Prominent leaders detained include Ch. Lal Singh, AICC Secretaries Shah Nawaz Choudhary and Neeraj Kundan, Th. Balwan Singh, Mula Ram, Ravinder Sharma, Yogesh Sawhney, Indu Pawar, T.S. Tony, and several former MLAs, MLCs, DCC presidents, and frontal heads of the party.
The protest was part of Congress’s ongoing campaign demanding the restoration of full statehood to J&K.
Addressing the media, Karra denounced the authorities, saying, “By this action, they showed their frustration and their mentality that they do not believe in a democratic system and have no respect for people’s voice.”
He said they were not on the roads to spread unrest but had planned to submit a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi through the Lt Governor championing people’s yearning for statehood.
“The Congress will not be cowed down by such actions but will further strengthen our resolve to fight for our rights,” Karra said.
He said police action in Srinagar and Jammu notwithstanding, the party will go ahead with its ‘Delhi challo’ programme on Monday to ‘Ghareo’ parliament on the first day of the Monsoon Session.
“We will try to surround the Parliament on reaching Delhi. We will try to wake up this deaf, blind and handicapped government so that they can make Jammu and Kashmir a state as soon as possible,” the PCC president said.
He said the entire INDIA bloc MPs support the demand for statehood for Jammu and Kashmir.Jammu tourismJammu and Kashmir travel guide
Mir said, “This is the commitment that was made by the prime minister. It has been 10 months (since the Lok Sabha elections), but statehood has not been restored yet. Modi should fulfil his commitment.”
AICC secretary Shahnawaz Choudhary, among the detainees, accused police of trying to suppress the voice of the people.
“There is no justification for such an action against our peaceful rally. We will continue our struggle for restoration of statehood,” he said.
