Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Aug 11: Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) leader and Chief Whip Nizamuddin Bhat today accused the J&K administration of “muzzling a democratic voice” by preventing the party from holding its ‘Hamari Riyasat Hamara Haq’ programme in the city and allegedly harassing its leaders and workers.
Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, Bhat said the Congress had applied five days in advance for permission to hold the event near a bridge in Jammu as part of its ongoing campaign for restoration of statehood. “We wanted to carry forward our awareness programme in a peaceful manner, as responsible citizens,” he said, adding that the party’s president, Tariq Hameed Karra, senior leaders from Jammu and Kashmir, legislators, former Ministers, civil society members, intellectuals and common workers were part of the gathering.
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According to Bhat, the administration refused permission, and when leaders turned towards the party office on Wazarat Road personnel in uniform took photographs of the gathering “as if they were criminals and manhandled participants, including party president Tariq Hameed Karra. “The local DSP, who manhandled an MLA from Rajouri earlier, repeated the same act with Tariq Hameed Karra and others,” Bhat claimed.
He said the leaders were made to sit in the scorching sun, adding that the incident was an attempt to humiliate and intimidate citizens connected to the movement.
Calling the Congress a responsible national party that “gave freedom to the country,” Bhat said the ongoing agitation had the support of people from across Jammu and Kashmir and at the national level. He reiterated the party’s commitment to continue the campaign until the Prime Minister’s assurance in Parliament on restoring statehood is fulfilled. He expressed hope that the Supreme Court would act judiciously to protect democratic rights.
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