J&K: ‘Locked up’ before sit-in protest, PAGD leaders take to Twitter

The mainstream coalition — People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) — had announced a peaceful sit-in protest against the draft. The protest was organised after three National Conference (NC) MPs, including Dr Farooq Abdullah, met with the members of the commission in New Delhi on December 20.

The parties in the valley are against the distribution of the seven new constituencies, owing to an imbalance of seats in favour of Jammu.

On Saturday, NC vice-president Omar Abdullah accused the administration of being “terrified” of normal political activity. Taking to Twitter he wrote, “Good morning & welcome to 2022. A new year with the same J&K police illegally locking people in their homes & an administration so terrified of normal democratic activity. Trucks parked outside our gates to scuttle the peaceful @JKPAGD sit-in protest. Some things never change.”

Good morning & welcome to 2022. A new year with the same J&K police illegally locking people in their homes & an administration so terrified of normal democratic activity. Trucks parked outside our gates to scuttle the peaceful @JKPAGD sit-in protest. Some things never change. pic.twitter.com/OeSNwAOVkp

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) January 1, 2022

He added that the police have even locked the internal gate connecting his father’s home to his sister’s. “Yet our leaders have the cheek to tell the world that India is the largest democracy, hah!!,” he added.

PAGD vice-chairperson Mehbooba Mufti also took to Twitter and criticised the government’s move to look up PAGD leaders and wrote, “GOI trumpets scrapping Article 370 & dismembering J&K throughout the country but is deeply paranoid & intolerant when people of J&K want to protest against its disempowerment. For the umpteenth time, we’ve been placed under house arrest for trying to organise a peaceful protest.”

Meanwhile, scores of NC and People’s Democratic Party workers protested in different parts of Srinagar against the proposed delimitation draft as well as the detention of their party leadership ahead of the sit-in.

Despite the despotic administration’s attempts to foil our protests, PDP & NC workers managed to hit the streets in Srinagar today to raise their voice against the illegal revocation of Article 370. I salute their courage & resolve. pic.twitter.com/yfRa5nSdmg

— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) January 1, 2022

Barring BJP, all political parties in the valley have termed the delimitation draft as “totally unacceptable”. The J&K Reorganisation Act provided for the addition of seven new constituencies in J&K following the splitting of the former state into two union territories. In the December 20 meeting, the Delimitation Commission said six of these would go to Jammu province and one in Kashmir.

People’s Conference chairman Sajad Lone, a former member of the PAGD, also questioned the administration’s move to disallow peaceful protests. He tweeted, “I can’t c any valid reason y the state administration should stop political parties from protesting. Isn’t right to protest intrinsic to the concept of a vibrant democracy.”

He further wrote, “Not being critical. But state administration really needs to reassess and reevaluate. If you stop political, non violent protests what r u incentivising by default. U r incentivising and facilitating and setting the conditions for a violent form of protest.”

Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee President Ghulam Ahmad Mir called the house arrest “unethical and undemocratic”. Mir said: “Keeping him under house arrest ahead of the proposed sit-in protest against delimitation commission’s draft is a sham and against the basic foundation of the Indian democracy.”