NC demands restoration of statehood, targets Centre over delay
BJP marches against Omar government, flags jobs, corruption, polls & power
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir witnessed an unusual political face-off on Wednesday as ruling National Conference (NC) leaders took to the streets against the Centre demanding restoration of statehood, while the BJP staged a counter-protest targeting the Omar Abdullah-led government over its governance record.
The protests were among the most prominent street demonstrations by the two major parties since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, with both accusing each other of failing the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
The NC protest was centred on the demand for restoration of statehood, with party ministers, legislators and workers assembling near Gindun Sports Complex in Rajbagh before attempting to march towards the BJP headquarters at Jawahar Nagar.
Police and security personnel stopped the protesters from proceeding further.
NC chief spokesperson and MLA Tanvir Sadiq accused the BJP-led Centre of delaying fulfilment of its commitment on statehood.
“Where is statehood? It has been two years since the elections. The time has come to fulfil the promise made to us,” Sadiq told reporters at Rajbagh.
He said the NC would continue to raise the demand for restoration of statehood and the constitutional guarantees revoked in 2019 until, according to him, “what was snatched from us is given back”.
The NC later alleged that its elected representatives were mishandled during the protest and claimed that participants were prevented from joining the demonstration.
“A tale of two protests. One, facilitated and allowed freely. The other, roughed up and restricted. Same administration, different attitude,” the party said in a post on X.
The BJP, meanwhile, organised its own demonstration against the Omar Abdullah-led government, with hundreds of party leaders and workers gathering near the Clock Tower at Lal Chowk.
The BJP had planned to march towards and gherao the Civil Secretariat but was stopped by police near Hari Singh High Street.
Addressing party workers, Leader of Opposition in the J&K Assembly Sunil Sharma accused the government of failing to address what he described as pressing public concerns.
Sharma said the BJP’s protest focused on four issues—alleged irregularities in recruitment, the delay in local body elections, corruption and power tariff hikes.
He also accused the NC government of repeatedly raising the statehood issue while allegedly failing to focus adequately on governance.
Taking aim at Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Sharma challenged him to resign from the Ganderbal Assembly seat and seek a fresh mandate on the issue of statehood.
“If people re-elect you, we will accept that statehood is your genuine issue,” Sharma said.
J&K BJP president and Rajya Sabha MP Sat Sharma described the protest as a warning to the government to either meet public expectations or resign.
The contrasting protests also triggered criticism from other opposition parties.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti alleged that authorities were applying different standards to political parties. She questioned why the PDP was previously restricted from holding street protests while the NC and BJP were permitted to stage demonstrations.
“The same police that won’t allow PDP to step outside its office to hold a peaceful protest on public issues have facilitated both the BJP and the NC to protest against each other,” she said in a post on X.
PDP MLA Waheed Para described the rival demonstrations as a reflection of what he called the “failure of governance and the political process” in Jammu and Kashmir.
“With governance failing in J&K and unemployment rising, they seem to be playing a fixed match with the people who voted for them. But people aren’t spectators, they remember,” Para said.
He questioned whether the sight of an elected government taking to the streets indicated that people were increasingly being asked to look beyond their elected representatives for solutions and accountability.
The political confrontation was not confined to Srinagar. In Jammu, dozens of National Conference workers were detained while attempting to march towards the BJP headquarters at Trikuta Nagar to press for restoration of statehood.
Led by NC Jammu provincial president Rattan Lal Gupta, the protesters assembled at Trikuta Nagar market and attempted to proceed towards the BJP office. Police stopped them and detained several protesters after they tried to cross barricades.
