JKNC Supporters Throng Hazratbal for Statehood Demand
Srinagar: 11 July: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said, on Saturday, that the silence and patience exhibited by the people of the region since 5 August 2019 should not be misconstrued as weakness.
Omar Abdullah informed that the ruling J&K National Conference (JKNC) would peacefully organise a sit-in at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on 20 July, saying the time had arrived to “intensify the demand for the restoration of statehood”.
Abdullah was addressing his party workers who had assembled at Srinagar’s Hazratbal on the occasion of the 26th death anniversary of Begum Akbar Jehan Abdullah, the wife of Late Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. Begum Akbar Jehan was the grandmother of the Chief Minister.
In a major show of strength, hundreds of supporters of the ruling JKNC assembled at Hazratbal to intensify their demand for the return of Statehood and gather momentum for the upcoming sit-in at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar for the same purpose.
The Chief Minister remarked, “I chose dialogue and consultation over deadlock and confrontation. I repeatedly said we wanted to secure our rights through dialogue, not conflict. I consciously gave the Centre time to fulfil its promises. But today we are compelled to speak of protest because something has clearly changed.”
Apart from paying tributes to Begum Akbar Jehan on her death anniversary, the event is largely seen as a precursor to the Jantar Mantar protest.
Hilal Akbar Lone, the JKNC leader and MLA from Sonawari Assembly segment, told reporters that the passion of the people of J&K for the return of Statehood “is visible in the rally”.
“Our identity, our flag, our constitution and our special status and state were unilaterally snatched from us on 5 August, 2019. People of Jammu and Kashmir are demonstrating that they want all their rights and constitutional guarantees back,” Hilal Akbar Lone said.
The JKNC leaders said that the 11 July rally is a part of a series of forthcoming events for the return of Statehood. He also informed that his party has applied for permission to hold a sit-in at Jantar Mantar.
Bashir Veeri, another JKNC legislator from the Srigufwara-Bijbehara Assembly constituency, told The News Herald that many of his supporters from South Kashmir “enthusiastically participated” in the rally.
Meanwhile, in an official statement, the JKNC said that “Begum Akbar Jehan occupies a seminal place in Kashmir’s socio-political history. At a time when women were largely confined to the private sphere, she emerged as a pioneering public figure whose courage inspired generations of Kashmiri women to participate in public life with confidence and purpose.”
“Her remarkable journey continues to inspire generations, reminding the people of Jammu and Kashmir that the greatest struggles are sustained not merely by charismatic leadership, but by the silent strength, resilience, and unshakeable conviction of those who stand steadfastly behind great causes,” the JKNC statement added.
