Cong steps up campaign for full statehood in J&K

The Jammu and Kashmir Congress on Saturday launched a hunger strike in Srinagar, demanding the restoration of full statehood to the Union Territory.

J&K Congress president Tariq Hameed Karra led the protest at the party’s head office on MA Road. He was joined by senior party leaders, including AICC general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir, former PCC president Peerzada Mohammad Syed, and several party MLAs.

According to Congress leaders, Karra will also lead a similar hunger strike in Jammu on Sunday, accompanied by all district presidents from the Jammu province. The protest is scheduled to take place at the Maharaja Hari Singh statue site at Tawi Bridge from 10 am onwards.

The hunger strike is part of the party’s ongoing eight-month-long campaign, ‘Hamari Riyasat, Hamara Haq’, aimed at pushing for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.

Speaking to reporters, Karra accused the Union government of turning “blind, deaf, and dumb” to the grievances of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

He said the Congress had recently organised a series of outreach programmes in Srinagar, Jammu, and Delhi, where civil society members and people from various walks of life extended their support.

Karra also said that the party chose August 9 for the hunger strike as it marks the anniversary of the launch of the Quit India Movement in 1942.