NC protests in Delhi for statehood; Farooq, 2 Cong leaders reach Jantar Mantar

NEW DELHI, July 20: The much-publicised National Conference protest for restoration of Statehood to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir scheduled for Jantar Mantar here on opening day of Parliament session today, was eventually held at JK House at Prithvi Raj Road followed by the Constitution Club and was led by party president Dr Farooq Abdullah. The protest was later also joined by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who reached the capital this morning from Jammu, NC leaders and workers including the Ministers, MPs and MLAs. However, Farooq and two JK Congress leaders Tariq Hamid Karra and GA Mir reached Jantar Mantar for the protest.

With Jantar Mantar remaining the hotspot today because of Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protests and call for the Parliament march leading to police lathicharge and teargassing, the National Conference top leadership gathered at JK House at Prithvi Road (as exclusively reported by the Excelsior today) and led by Dr Farooq Abdullah started protest in the morning shouting slogans for restoration of Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who had yesterday cut short his New Delhi visit in view of several casualties in flash flood in Rajouri and Poonch districts and reached Jammu, returned to the capital this morning, and was seen walking towards the Constitution Club, where a seminar on the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s Statehood was being held but was stopped by police. Wearing a jacket emblazoned with “Restore Statehood”, Omar sat on the pavement on Ashoka Road, where some youngsters participating in the CJP protest also joined him.

Omar was unable to reach the protest venue at Jantar Mantar due to the heavy deployment of police personnel for the CJP protest.

Police allegedly used tear gas to disperse the growing crowd near the Constitution Club while Omar and his supporters were holding the sit-in.

However, Dr Farooq Abdullah along with JK PCC (I) chief Tariq Hamid Karra and CLP leader GA Mir reached Jantar Mantar in Farooq’s vehicle and staged protest there in support of their demand for restoration of statehood to J&K. Other NC leaders were diverted and allowed peaceful protest.

Mir told the Excelsior that after Jantar Mantar protest, the NC and Congress leaders reached Constitution Club where several leaders from different political parties were present and the issue of statehood figured.

NC president Dr Farooq Abdullah had extended invitation to several parties of INDIA block to join Statehood march at Jantar Mantar.

As police stopped rest of the NC leaders from moving towards Jantar Mantar, Omar hired an autorickshaw to reach Prithviraj Road.

“My walk from Jantar Mantar was about to turn into another procession, so we grabbed the first available means of transport,” Omar said in a post on X, sharing a video of his autorickshaw ride. His sons, Zamir and Zaheer, were also seen with him in the video. He reached Prithvi Raj Road and paid Rs 500 to autorickshaw driver.

As the NC as a whole was denied permission to demonstrate at Jantar Mantar, where thousands converged to join the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) ‘Chalo Sansad’ march, the NC shifted its protest programme to the nearby Constitution Club. Omar staged a dharna on Ashoka Road along with his supporters after being prevented from reaching the Constitution Club.

In another post on X, Omar said: “We were stopped from getting to Jantar Mantar and stopped from protesting peacefully for what is rightfully ours, but we were not silenced. This is only the beginning of our struggle for statehood, our rights, our dignity, and everything that was taken away from us.”

Omar said the protest was aimed at holding the Centre accountable to its explicit commitments made before both Houses of Parliament and the Supreme Court to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.

Speaking to reporters during the protest, NC president and former Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah said they are fighting for full statehood, which was promised by the Prime Minister and the Home Minister in Parliament, as well as in the Supreme Court, and also to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

“I hope the Government will respect the wishes of the people of this country. I hope they will work for the good of this country and that the problems of Ladakh will also be solved and the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir will be restored,” Farooq said and urged the Modi administration to respect the democratic mandate of the region.

“I hope the Government will respect the wishes of the people, work for the good of this country, address the issues in Ladakh, and restore Statehood to J&K without further delay,” Dr Abdullah said.

Addressing reporters later, Omar criticised the Centre and the Delhi Police over the action.

“…here, along with the rest of the people, we were also targeted by tear gas. It is such a shame,” Omar said.

“We came to Delhi with around 100 supporters to press the Centre for early restoration of statehood, but we are not allowed to protest peacefully here either. Democracy is being strangled,” he added.

Omar said the protest was aimed at holding the Centre accountable to its explicit commitments made before both Houses of Parliament and the Supreme Court.

“We came to Delhi to remind the Central Government that they promised the Supreme Court and the public that Statehood would be restored immediately after elections,” he said, adding they are repeatedly told that statehood will be restored at the appropriate time, but no one tells then when that appropriate time actually is.

“Coming from a remote corner of the country, our voices are often overlooked; that is why we were forced to demonstrate here today,” he added.