PDP protests LoP’s remark on 1931 killings, demands apology

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday staged protests in Srinagar and Pulwama against BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Sunil Sharma, for calling the 1931 martyrs “traitors.”

A political storm erupted in the J&K Assembly on Wednesday after Sharma’s remarks regarding the July 13, 1931 killings in Srinagar. Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather later expunged the remarks, prompting Sharma to stage a walkout in protest.

The controversy began when PDP MLA Waheed-ur-Rehman Para demanded the restoration of the July 13 holiday in memory of the 22 men killed outside Srinagar’s Central Jail in 1931. The holiday was discontinued after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. Para also urged the government to reinstate December 5 — the birth anniversary of National Conference (NC) founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah — as a public holiday.

On Thursday, PDP workers, led by party leader Iltija Mufti, held demonstrations in Srinagar, raising slogans against the BJP and demanding an apology from Sunil Sharma.

Speaking to reporters, Iltija condemned the BJP leader’s remarks, calling them “totally wrong.” “BJP is trying to erase our collective history and memory. This is not acceptable to us. We will thwart all such attempts. These are our martyrs,” she asserted.

She further demanded that Sharma apologise to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

“You cannot tell us who our heroes are. For the people of J&K, the 22 martyrs who laid down their lives in 1931 will always be our heroes,” she added.

Iltija Mufti urged all political parties to support PDP in passing a resolution in the Assembly to restore July 13 as a state holiday.

Meanwhile, PDP reiterated that the “sacrifices of our martyrs will never be erased.” Protests were also held in Pulwama, where PDP workers denounced Sharma’s remarks and demanded the restoration of Martyrs’ Day as a public holiday.