SRINAGAR: The ruling National Conference (NC) on Wednesday staged a protest in Srinagar against the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and its subsequent bifurcation into two Union territories on August 5, 2019, demanding restoration of the region’s constitutional guarantees and statehood.
The protest was held at the NC’s Central Office and was attended by senior party leaders, legislators and workers. Participants raised slogans and displayed placards calling for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s rights and special status.
Addressing reporters after the protest, NC leader and Cabinet Minister Sakina Itoo described August 5 as a “day of misfortune” for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, alleging that their rights, guarantees, special status and statehood were taken away on that day.
“On 5th August, our rights, our guarantees, everything that we had was snatched from us. Be it the special status or the statehood, that 5th August was a day of misfortune for all of us,” Itoo said.
She said the National Conference had consistently opposed the 2019 changes and continued to raise the issue through peaceful protests.
Itoo also referred to resolutions passed by the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly seeking restoration of special status and by the Cabinet seeking restoration of statehood. She said the resolution on statehood had already been sent to the Union Government.
“The rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir that were snatched should be returned,” she said.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also opposed the 2019 changes. On Tuesday night, PDP president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti led a candlelight vigil and sit-in outside the party headquarters in Srinagar, calling for restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.
The NC and PDP had called for protest programmes to mark August 5, when the Centre announced the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 and Parliament subsequently passed legislation for the reorganisation of the erstwhile state into the Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Security arrangements were intensified across Kashmir, particularly in Srinagar and other sensitive areas, officials said. The measures were aimed at preventing unauthorised demonstrations, maintaining law and order and ensuring that normal public life remained unaffected.
The BJP, meanwhile, planned events at its party headquarters and in various districts to mark the anniversary.
The protests and security measures came as Jammu and Kashmir marked the seventh anniversary of the August 5, 2019 changes, which remain a major political issue in the Union Territory.
