NC workers stage protests across Kashmir for statehood
Omar Abdullah says NC prevented from reaching Delhi’s Jantar Mantar
Srinagar: National Conference workers staged protests at district headquarters across Kashmir on Monday, demanding the immediate restoration of statehood to Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Kashmir Media Service, demonstrations were held at Nawa-i-Subah, the NC headquarters in Srinagar, and at other district headquarters across the Valley, where party workers raised slogans calling for the restoration of statehood.
The protesters said the promise to restore statehood had been made in Indian Parliament and before the Supreme Court, and that it was essential for effective governance and for safeguarding the rights and aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
NC president Farooq Abdullah led a sit-in at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi as part of the party’s campaign to press the Modi government for the immediate restoration of full statehood.
Occupied Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the National Conference was prevented from reaching Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to hold a peaceful protest demanding the restoration of statehood, but vowed that the party’s campaign would continue.
In a statement posted on X, Abdullah said, “We were stopped from getting to Jantar Mantar and 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.”
The National Conference had organized the demonstration in New Delhi to coincide with the opening day of Indian Parliament’s Monsoon Session, pressing the Indian government to restore full statehood to occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
