Jammu and Kashmir: BJP leader hoists Tricolour at Lal Chowk in Anantnag to mark one year of Article 370 abrogation

Local BJP leader Rumisa Rafiq hoists Tricolour at Lal Chowk in Anantnag.

A local Bharatiya Janata Party leader in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday hoisted the Tricolour at Lal Chowk in Anantnag to celebrate the first anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 from the militancy-hit state. The local BJP leader who raised the national flag has been identified as Rumisa Rafiq.

Rumisa is believed to have ignored threats from Pakistani terrorists and separatists to arrive at Lal Chowk in the Anantnag town carrying the Tricolour even as the entire area wore a deserted look. The CRPF personnel were deployed in the area as a part of security measures to avert untoward incidents by anti-social elements.

The photographs show her raising the Tricolour and saluting the national flag at the Lal Chowk in Anantnag.

August 5 marks the first anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir. The Modi government on August 5 last year scrapped Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the state into two Union Territories — Jammu and Kashmir division; and Ladakh division.

Rafiq’s hoisting of a Tricolour at the sensitive Lal Chowk in Anantnag comes a day after a Sarpanch was shot at in Kulgam. The injured sarpanch has been identified as Arif Ahmad of Akhran village in Kulgam. According to police, militants barged into his house on Tuesday evening and opened fire from close range. He is currently undergoing treatment at hospital.

Meanwhile, former CM Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter Iltija has reacted sharply to the hoisting of the Tricolour.

“With restrictions on the overwhelming majority of Jammu and Kashmir who want to peacefully protest, police and administration organised curated photo ops of a select few hoisting national flags,” she tweeted.