Rajput group holds protest in Jammu for statehood restoration

A Rajput outfit staged a march here on Monday in support of the demand for early restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir with its leader threatening to intensify the agitation if the BJP-led Central government failed to keep its promise on the issue.

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The activists of Yuva Rajput Sabha led by their president Vikram Singh took out the rally from the statue of Maharaja Hari Singh, the last Dogra ruler, at Tawi bridge near Jewel Chowk in the heart of the city amid heavy deployment of police personnel. The participants, chanting slogans in support of statehood, crossed the Tawi bridge upto Bikram Chowk and returned to the Maharaja’s statute before dispersing off peacefully.

“This rally is part of our struggle for restoration of statehood to J&K. Statehood is our birth right and directly linked to the future of our youth and coming generations,” Singh told reporters.

He said it is wrong on the part of some people who are saying that the National Conference is behind the rally. “We have taken out rallies in support of statehood in the past and we will continue and rather intensify our struggle for restoration of our birth right. We want to remind the BJP leadership of its promise on statehood as more than three months has passed since the formation of the popular government in J&K,” he said, adding they are not demanding any favour but restoration of the erstwhile Dogra state.