SRINAGAR: The ruling National Conference’s protest in New Delhi demanding restoration of statehood to J&K on Monday faced sharp criticism from Kashmir-based leaders, who described it as half-hearted, ill-planned, lacklustre and even a fixed match.
The BJP termed it as theatrics and an attempt to divert public attention from its glaring failures. The NC president and three-time former J&K Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah led the party’s protest in the national capital to press the Centre to restore statehood to J&K.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who had returned to Jammu on Sunday to review the flood situation in rain-battered Poonch and Rajouri districts, arrived in the national capital to participate in the statehood protest, which was also attended by J&K Congress chief Tariq Hamid Karra and Congress MLA G A Mir.
On August 5, 2019, the Centre scrapped J&K’s special status and downgraded and bifurcated the erstwhile J&K state into two Union Territories -- Jammu and Kashmir (with a legislature) and Ladakh (without a legislature).
The Kashmir-based Opposition leaders were not impressed with the NC’s statehood protest in Delhi. Former Srinagar Mayor Junaid Mattu termed the NC protest as a disservice to the cause of restoring Kashmir’s dignity and rights.
"A party with a Government, 40+ legislators and 5 MPs couldn’t invest the effort to gather 5,000 people in Delhi?” he said.
According to Mattu, the CJP protest over NEET has overshadowed the protest by an elected CM, MPs and MLAs, and it is anguishing even for those who stand opposed to the JKNC politically.
“What was the need to protest when there was no preparation and no seriousness of intent?” he said.
“Unsurprisingly, the national opposition leadership seems conspicuously absent. Not a SINGLE J&K State Flag, not a SINGLE placard mentioning Articles 370 and 35-A or the cause of Autonomy,” Mattu said, adding that a meek, inert and tamed “demand” for “statehood” in the absence of these political demands is a shameful and undignified constitutional normalisation of what was done in 2019.
"Why embarrass the people of J&K by this shoddy excuse of a “protest” which looks more like an NC picnic to Delhi? Absolutely disheartening and disappointing. And embarrassing,” he added.
PDP leader Iltija Mufti, who unsuccessfully contested the 2024 Assembly election from her party’s Bijbehara stronghold, in a post on X said, “Instead of a lacklustre, deliberately understated and soft-pedalled one-day event at a random Delhi club without even a whimper about Article 370, imagine a protest in Jantar Mantar reverberating with slogans for reinstituting J&K’s Special Status."
“Unfortunate that an elected government is choosing to normalise an illegal and disempowering Act,” she said.
Sheikh Imran of Peoples Conference in a post on X said, “Kabhi haan, kabhi naa… Kabhi idhar, kabhi udhar… Jantar Mantar? Bilkul nahi. No protest but meeting in Constitution Club - BJP – JKNC. Fixed match - Deal Done. Order fixed. Script fixed. Stage fixed. Venue fixed. Bas acting baaki hai,” he alleged.
BJP slammed NC’s statehood protest in New Delhi while J&K was battling flash floods.
“Eighteen people have lost their lives in the Rajouri-Poonch tragedy, eight are still missing, and the damage is estimated to run into thousands of crores of rupees. Yet, instead of standing firmly with the affected people, the NC government has left them to fend for themselves while seeking political mileage through drama at Jantar Mantar,” BJP spokesman Altaf Thakur said.
He said the Omar government has failed on every front and in every sector, and these theatrics are nothing but an attempt to divert public attention from its glaring failures.
