JAMMU: Members of the National Conference (NC) on Tuesday staged a dharna in front of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, demanding the restoration of statehood and an end to the alleged harassment of Kashmiris in some parts of the country.
Ahead of the start of the Assembly session, the NC MLAs were seen carrying placards reading "Restore statehood and Constitutional guarantees" and "Stop harassing Kashmiris outside J&K."
They raised slogans demanding the restoration of statehood and the protection of Kashmiris outside the Union Territory.
"We are sitting on a dharna in support of the demand for restoration of statehood," minister Satish Sharma told reporters here.
NC MLA Tanvir Sadiq said all NC members were participating in the protest.
"This was promised to us...It is now time to restore it," he told reporters.
Sadiq also raised the issue of alleged harassment of Kashmiris outside Jammu and Kashmir and appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to direct states to ensure their protection.
When the Assembly proceedings resumed, the issue of alleged harassment was raised in the House by NC MLA Mubarak Gul and PDP MLA Wahid-ur-Rehman Para.
An 18-year-old Kashmiri youth suffered serious injuries after he was allegedly assaulted by a group of people while he was selling shawls in Uttarakhand's Dehradun district on January 28.
There have been reports of Kashmiri shawl sellers being harassed and roughed up in some other states as well.