SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir National Conference chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq on Monday said the party would decide the place, timing and scale of any future protest over issues concerning the Union Territory.
Sadiq said Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had raised the issues of restoration of statehood, the reservation policy and the release of J&K youth lodged in jails during recent meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
He said the National Conference had already made its position clear that the party leadership would decide the nature and scale of its protests.
“Whether a protest will be large or limited, and whether it will involve ten people or ten thousand, will be decided by the party leadership,” he said.
Referring to the party’s recent march towards the BJP headquarters, Sadiq said Cabinet ministers, MPs, MLAs and senior party functionaries had participated in it.
“It was not a general public protest; it was an expression by elected public representatives and prominent party functionaries,” he said.
Sadiq said the march was not aimed at demonstrating the party’s strength but at reminding the authorities of commitments made to the people of J&K.
“We went there to remind the authorities of the commitments made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir—whether those commitments were made by the Prime Minister, the Union Home Minister or the Supreme Court of India,” he said.
Clarifying the party’s reference to the BJP leadership, Sadiq said it was directed at the central leadership, including the prime minister and home minister, who had made commitments regarding the restoration of statehood to J&K.
He said the National Conference would continue its political struggle over the rights and demands of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, while maintaining that the timing, nature and participation in such programmes would be decided by the party.
On the party’s programme for September 8, Sadiq said the National Conference would observe the 44th death anniversary of its founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah.
He recalled Sheikh Abdullah’s role in the political history of J&K, particularly his contribution to land reforms and the implementation of the “land to the tiller” principle.
Sadiq said the reforms helped dismantle the feudal system and were accompanied by efforts to expand healthcare, education and social welfare.
He said Sheikh Abdullah’s political legacy and contribution to the rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir remained an important part of the region’s history.
