Srinagar, July 19: The Indian National Congress party in Jammu and Kashmir has intensified its statehood campaign, which they launched last month for the restoration of statehood to J&K. The party will march to Srinagar on 19th July, to Jammu on 20th July, and then to Delhi on 21st July.
Talking to the media, as per the KNS correspondent, J&K Congress President Tariq Hamid Karra said, “For us, the assurances given in Srinagar turned out to be nothing more than empty words. Keeping this in mind, both leaders (Kharge Ji and Rahul Gandhi Ji) wrote a letter in which they included the dates and instances when these assurances were made, and stated clearly: ‘No more waiting.’”
He said, “With this in view, we decided to intensify our ongoing movement in Srinagar and Jammu. As part of this intensification, we made the decision to launch a ‘Chalo Srinagar, Chalo Jammu’ (‘Let’s go to Srinagar, Let’s go to Jammu’) campaign on the 19th in Srinagar and the 20th in Jammu. Following that, we gave a call for ‘Chalo Delhi’ (‘Let’s go to Delhi’) on the 21st, under which our senior leadership will go there to demand immediate restoration of statehood.”
He also said that this state was divided into two parts into two Union Territories and ever since then, the Congress Party launched a campaign in Jammu and Kashmir. “Over the past six months, we started a movement called ‘Hamari Riyasat Hamara Haq’ (‘Our State, Our Right’). Whether in Jammu or in Kashmir, we campaigned across the 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir. In every district, we went and presented the importance of the ‘Hamari Riyasat Hamara Haq’.
“You’ll be pleased to know that this program and slogan received a warm response in every district across Jammu and Kashmir. During this time, our President Kharge Ji and our leader Rahul Gandhi Ji, understanding the pain of the people of Jammu and Kashmir their emotions, feelings, aspirations, and needs—wrote a letter to the Prime Minister. In that letter, they clearly stated that for months, both inside and outside of Parliament, you (the PM) have been repeatedly giving assurances. Time and again, you say that when the appropriate time comes, the restoration of statehood will be done,” he said.
“Through this, we aim to amplify our voices and align them with the voices of all our leaders, so that the feelings, aspirations, emotions, and needs of the people of Jammu and Kashmir reach the ears of the government. For your information, the letter that Rahul Ji and Kharge Ji sent was based on all these concerns,” Karra said.
He also said that the backing for statehood is not only from the Congress Party’s 108 members but also from 233 members of our INDIA bloc alliance in the Lok Sabha. “We want to make it clear that without the intervention of the Congress without the efforts of Rahul Ji, Kharge Ji, and their team it would be impossible to restore the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir.”
“At this point, we have prepared a memorandum, and we will march toward the office of the Divisional Commissioner to present this memorandum to them, which will then be forwarded to the Lieutenant Governor (LG),” he added. (KNS)
