Jammu, July 20 (IANS) J&K Police on Sunday interrupted the Congress protest march for restoration of statehood to the UT as the president of J&K, Tariq Hameed Karra and All India Congress Committee (AICC), general secretary, G.A. Mir, were detained for an hour in a local police station before their release.

JKPCC president, Tariq Hameed Karra, AICC general secretary, G.A.Mir and several senior leaders led the ‘Jammu Chalo’ march in Jammu city to reiterate the party’s demand for the immediate restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.

A party spokesperson said that the march, held under the banner ‘Hamari Riyasat Hamara Haq’, marked the culmination of a broader campaign that has reached every corner of J&K in recent weeks.

“Today’s protest march aims to highlight public dissatisfaction with the continued absence of democratic rights and the erosion of constitutional guarantees following the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of the erstwhile state in 2019,” he said.

Congress leaders, accompanied by many party workers, rallied through Jammu city voicing demands for the restoration of democratic institutions, statehood, and dignity for the people of J&K.

However, the protest was briefly interrupted when J&K Police detained the leaders. They were taken to the Police Line in the Gandhi Nagar area, where they were held for about an hour before being released.

Congress party said on X after the incident: “Shameful on the part of the J&K Police, controlled by the central government, who have arrested JKPCC President @TariqKarra ji along with AICC General Secretary @GAMIR_INC ji and hundreds of Congress workers in Jammu while they were protesting for the full statehood of Jammu & Kashmir.

“Yesterday, the JKPCC office in Srinagar was sealed to quell a peaceful protest. These undemocratic and despotic actions by the Modi government are a blatant denial of our fundamental rights.

“We will keep fighting this oppressive regime till the end!”

K.C. Venugopal criticised the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, for police action against party leaders in Jammu. He said on X, “Did PM Modi lie on the floor of Parliament about granting statehood for J&K?

“If not, why has J&K Police arrested JKPCC President Tariq Hameed Karra ji & other Congress leaders?

“Why did they seal the PCC Office in Srinagar yesterday & stop our party workers from protesting peacefully for statehood? “In the upcoming Parliament session, the INDIA alliance will be demanding that full statehood be restored in J&K immediately. This farce cannot go on any longer.”

A similar protest march on Saturday was disallowed by police in Srinagar city when the Congress leaders tried to march to the city centre, Lal Chowk.

–IANS

sq/dan