Jammu, July 18: Hundreds of Congress workers, including senior leaders and In-charge of Jammu & Kashmir Affairs, Bharat Singh Solanki and JKPCC President Vikar Rasool Wani, were detained on Thursday while attempting to ‘Gherao’ the Governor House in protest against recent terror attacks in Jammu and to demand statehood for J&K.
Solanki, Vikar Rasool Wani, Raman Bhalla, Lal Singh, former ministers Mula Ram, Yogesh Sawhney and other senior leaders were taken into custody from Raghunath Bazar as a preventive measure. Police also resorted to lathi-charge to disperse the agitating Congress workers at some locations. The Congress workers, led by senior leaders, began their protest march from Shaheedi Chowk, the Congress headquarters.
Upon reaching Raghunath Temple, about half a kilometre away, police erected barricades to stop the protesters who were attempting to ‘Gherao’ the Governor House. The detained Congress leaders were, however, released later.
The protest marked the beginning of a planned agitation by Congress to mobilise public support against rising terror incidents, the granting of unbridled powers to the Lieutenant Governor (LG), and the restoration of full statehood before the assembly elections.
“All tall claims of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), especially post-2019 development, have fallen flat before the growing terror incidents in the otherwise peaceful Jammu region,” Solanki said while speaking to reporters. He added, “Giving all powers to the Lt Governor means governing J&K from Delhi even after the formation of a popular government, which is against democracy.”
Solanki said the Jammu region was cleared of terrorism during the Congress-led UPA government and that the revival of terrorism in the peaceful Jammu region is a serious cause for concern, showing the failure of the current government.
JKPCC president Wani also criticised the BJP, saying that five years have passed since the abrogation of Article 370, yet there is no end to terrorism, which is spreading rapidly to new areas across J&K.
