Protest in support of farmers stalled in J&K

Our Correspondent

Srinagar, February 16

The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Friday detained several trade union leaders and activists who were planning to hold a protest at Lal Chowk here in support of the demands of agitating farmers, CPM leader MY Tarigami said.

He said around 50 trade union leaders and activists were not only detained but were canecharged by the police and were not allowed to take out the protest. “It is a strange situation in Kashmir. The government says everything is normal. There are no restrictions. Then why it is not allowing protests? They even took the phones of the protesters,” Tarigami said. He said the officials claim that prior permission was needed to hold a protest. “What for? Do you mean to say even for walking on the road you need permission,” the CPM leader said.

Tarigami said the protest was planned in response to the Samyukta Kisan Morcha’s call for a ‘Bharat Bandh’ to press the government to accept the agitating farmers’ demands, including a legal guarantee of MSP for crops.

“Condemning in no uncertain terms the use of force against the peaceful protest of Apple Farmers’ Federation of India, scheme workers and CITU leaders organised in response to Grameen Bharat Bandh,” Tarigami said on a series of posts on X.

He said that scores of leaders, including Kulgam District Development Council (DDC) chairman Mohammad Afzal, Apple Farmers’ Federation of India president Zahoor Ahmad Rather and general secretary Abdul Rasheed, were unjustly arrested after being bundled into police vehicles”.

“The use of brute force against peaceful protesters is an affront to democracy and a violation of fundamental rights,” he added.

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