Congress to Hold Sit-Ins on August 5 Across Jammu Kashmir, Says Karra

SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) on Monday announced an outreach campaign followed by a series of hunger strikes across the region as part of its ‘intensification drive’ for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.

Addressing a press conference in Jammu, JKPCC President Tariq Hameed Karra said the campaign will begin on August 1 under the banner ‘Humari Riyasat, Humara Haq’ (Our State, Our Right), a movement the party has been building since earlier this year.

“From August 1, our outreach campaign will begin, covering every stakeholder, trade body, transport union, chamber of commerce, market association and unorganised sector,” Karra said, adding that multiple teams are being constituted to take the message to the grassroots.

Karra said the movement had gained momentum in Srinagar, Jammu and Delhi earlier this year and the Congress high command, including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, KC Venugopal, and Jammu and Kashmir in-charge Dr Nasir Hussain, had extended their full support to the campaign.

He said the ‘logical conclusion’ of earlier phases of the campaign was the intensification programme, which will kick off with the outreach initiative and culminate with sustained protest actions.

Marking the fifth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories, Karra said the JKPCC will hold sit-in protests on August 5 at all district headquarters, including Srinagar and Jammu.

“August 5 is seen as a day of disempowerment for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, although BJP tries to glorify it,” Karra said. “We will mark it with peaceful protests across all 20 districts.”

Following the August 5 sit-ins, Karra said the party will launch a hunger strike movement, starting on August 9, the anniversary of the Quit India Movement.

“Hunger strikes will be held in both capitals and in district headquarters from August 9 to 20, excluding Independence Day (August 15) and Janmashtami (August 16),” Karra said.

Karra said that party workers will take a pledge to continue the fight for the restoration of statehood on the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on August 20.

Karra during the presser also referred to Rahul Gandhi’s earlier visit to Poonch, where he ‘adopted’ children who had lost one or both parents in recent militant attacks. “That gesture of compassion reflects the seriousness with which the leadership views the suffering of people here,” Karra said.

He also mentioned that the Congress team will again travel to Poonch areas as part of their ongoing engagement with affected communities. (KNO)