Ruling National Conference MLAs and legislators from other parties on Tuesday staged a protest in front of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly against the attacks on Kashmiris in several states and demanded restoration of statehood.
The immediate trigger for the protests appeared to be the absence of any reference to statehood in lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha’s budget-session address a day earlier.
The protests came after pandemonium in the Assembly over region-specific demands raised by Kashmir- and Jammu-based parties.
The BJP legislators demanded a National Law University in Jammu. Other parties, including the NC and the Opposition Peoples Democratic Party, protested against the attacks on Kashmiris and demanded statehood and special status.
Repeated attacks on Kashmiris have triggered outrage in the region, with former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday claiming the attackers enjoy the patronage of their respective states. She shared a video where an elderly Kashmiri was allegedly harassed in Uttar Pradesh.
"First, it was young Tabish, nearly beaten to death in Uttarakhand. Now, an elderly Kashmiri is being harassed while the perpetrators roam free. Where are the MPs of J&K who should be raising their voices (in Parliament) as such attacks become routine?" she asked on X.
"Instead of upholding Raj Dharma, the state governments appear to be granting silent patronage to mob violence, treating hatred as a shortcut to political success. The rule of law has been replaced by politics of fear."
PDP legislator Waheed ur Rahman Para moved an adjournment motion in the House to discuss the incidents of “hate crime” against Kashmiris but it was dismissed by Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather. This caused an uproar in the Assembly.
The Speaker said the issue can be taken up through other means in an appropriate manner without disrupting Question Hour, which could be used to make the government accountable. He said the Jammu and Kashmir government had taken up the issue of harassment of Kashmiris with various state governments.
NC MLAs, joined by a PDP legislator and some Independents, led a protest outside the Assembly, holding placards demanding statehood and an end to the attacks on Kashmiris. Such incidents have been reported from Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Assam, Uttar Pradesh and several other states.
“Restore statehood and constitutional guarantees” and “Stop harassing Kashmiris outside J&K”, read the placards.
NC legislator Tanvir Sadiq said they were against injustices, including the denial of constitutional guarantees and statehood. He said it was an appropriate time to return to statehood and special status.
The NC leader alleged it had become a fashion in the country to target Kashmiris and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah to direct states to stop these attacks.
An 18-year-old Kashmiri youth was seriously injured in an attack in Uttarakhand, prompting chief minister Omar Abdullah to call his counterpart Pushkar Singh Dhami, following which the assailants were arrested.