Srinagar — A street protest was held by the leaders and supporters of the J&K Apni Party (JKAP) in Srinagar on Tuesday to press for the restoration of Statehood ahead of the forthcoming Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir, which became a Union Territory following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
“Statehood is a right of Jammu and Kashmir. The Centre needs to restore all the rights, especially the status of J&K as a State. The Centre should fulfil its promise and reinstate Statehood before the Assembly elections. Our demand is very clear — to grant J&K its rightful status,” JKAP vice president Ghulam Hassan Mir said.
The Altaf Bukhari-headed JKAP was floated after the Centre abrogated Article 370 and revoked J&K’s special status in August 2019. In the past, JKAP leaders engaged with the top leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, to put forth their demands.
The party has also expressed its unhappiness over the recent move by the Centre to amend the Transaction of Business Rules to “enhance the administrative role of the J&K Lieutenant Governor”. The Union government has said the J&K Legislative Assembly may make laws with respect to any of the matters enumerated in the State List except ‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’, or the Concurrent List, in the Constitution’s Seventh Schedule.
“The recent amendments have weakened the Union Territory, leaving future Chief Ministers and MLAs powerless. We seek the reversal of these laws and the reinstatement of Statehood. The growing distance to Delhi reflects the increasing disappointment and anger among the people of Kashmir,” Ashraf Mir, another senior JKAP leader, said.
The JKAP leaders also accused the Centre of “backtracking on their promises to restore Statehood soon”. “Prime Minister Modi himself promised to restore Statehood but no orders have been issued so far,” they said.
A street protest by the party, which began at its headquarters in Church Lane, was not allowed to move towards Srinagar’s commercial hub of Lal Chowk.
