Srinagar, July 19 The police on Saturday foiled a march taken out by Congress party leaders and workers in Srinagar, seeking restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
The police foiled a march proposed by the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee in Srinagar as Congress leaders and workers were not allowed to move towards the city centre, Lal Chowk, from the party headquarters on Maulana Azad Road in the city.
Jammu and Kashmir Congress president Tariq Hameed Karra said that the police locked them inside the party headquarters and did not allow them to carry out a peaceful march to Lal Chowk in the city.
Karra also accused the Union Territory administration of preventing party workers from reaching the party headquarters in Srinagar, terming the move "undemocratic and a sign of administrative frustration".
Addressing reporters at the Congress headquarters in Srinagar, Karra said workers from various parts of the Valley were stopped en route to Srinagar as the party had planned to submit a memorandum to the Divisional Commissioner demanding restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood.
"We had assembled peacefully to reiterate our demand, but we were barred from hitting the roads and confined to the party headquarters. This suppression is unacceptable in a democratic setup. We will intensify our protests ahead of the scheduled July 21 march to Delhi, where senior Congress leaders are expected to escalate the campaign for statehood," Karra said.
Karra expressed gratitude to AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, for writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in support of statehood restoration.
The Congress' Jammu and Kashmir unit planned a 'Srinagar Chalo' march on Saturday and a 'Jammu Chalo' march tomorrow (Sunday).
Karra also said several Congress leaders, including party MLA Irfan Lone, were stopped from reaching the party office in Srinagar city.
"We have been informed that many of our leaders and workers have been stopped at different places and not allowed to reach here," Karra said.
The protestors later dispersed peacefully.
Congress' Jammu and Kashmir unit proposed protest marches in Srinagar and Jammu cities to assert its demand that a bill should be tabled in the upcoming Parliament session to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into two UTs of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on August 5, 2019, when Article 370 and 35A were abrogated.
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