Khan faroz cniSrinagar, CNI NEWS: Political activity intensified in Srinagar on Wednesday as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and ruling National Conference (NC) held separate protests against each other, with police stopping the BJP’s march towards the Civil Secretariat at Jahangir Chowk and halting the NC’s proposed march towards the BJP office near Rajbagh.

Details available with news agency CNI NEWS stated that the BJP assembled at Lal Chowk and later took out a march against the National Conference-led government. The protesters proceeded towards Jahangir Chowk, where police stopped the march, preventing them from moving further towards the Civil Secretariat.Meanwhile, NC leaders and workers staged a counter-protest near Rajbagh against the BJP and attempted to march towards the BJP office. Police stopped the NC protesters near Rajbagh, bringing the proposed gherao to a halt.The separate protests marked a day of heightened political activity at prominent

locations in Srinagar, with police personnel deployed at the respective protest sites to maintain law and order and regulate the movement of protesters. There were no general restrictions on movement across the city, officials said.Speaking during the BJP protest, Leader of Opposition in the J&K Legislative Assembly Sunil Sharma said the demonstration reflected what he described as the failures of the NC government.“This is a reflection of the failures of the government, which you are seeing on the

streets today,” Sharma said, alleging that people were facing problems related to electricity, water, roads and employment.He also criticised the government over electricity tariffs and questioned the promises made by the NC during the Assembly elections, including its commitments regarding Article 370, free electricity and jobs.Sharma further challenged Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to seek a fresh mandate from the people on the issue of statehood.“If Mr Omar Abdullah has even a little bit of dignity left, then come and fight the elections on statehood and resign from

Ganderbal,” he said.BJP J&K president and Rajya Sabha MP Sat Sharma said the party’s protest was aimed at highlighting what he termed the failures of the NC government.“People have made up their minds that either the government should work or leave office,” Sharma said, while claiming that thousands of BJP workers and members of the public had assembled at Lal Chowk.He also accused the NC government of

attempting to divert public attention from issues confronting the people and said the BJP would not tolerate what he described as attempts to give Pakistan a “clean chit.”On the other side, NC Chief Spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq said the party had organised the protest to remind the BJP leadership in Delhi of promises and commitments made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.“We only want to remind the BJP leadership in Delhi that the promises you made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir must be fulfilled. The time has now come,” Sadiq

said.Sadiq said the NC wanted to peacefully march towards the BJP headquarters and convey its demands to the central leadership, while clarifying that the protest was not directed against the BJP’s local leadership.He said the NC’s demands included restoration of statehood, constitutional guarantees and resolution of reservation-related issues concerning the youth.“It is not only about constitutional guarantees and special status, but also about statehood and reservation for our children. Something must be done for the youth today,” Sadiq said.NC leader and Education Minister Sakina Itoo said the party would continue its peaceful struggle for restoration of what she described as the rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.“For us, every day is a day of protest, and every day we will peacefully

demand, at every level and on every platform, that our rights be restored,” Itoo said.Itoo alleged that NC workers faced difficulties in reaching the protest venue and said the party would continue to raise its demands peacefully.“Our effort and our demand is that Article 370 and Article 35A be restored and statehood be restored,” she said.Chief Minister’s Advisor Nasir Aslam Wani said the government was compelled to protest over issues including restoration of statehood and rationalisation of reservation for youth.“For two years, we have been sitting patiently and waiting with the hope that the promises made to us would be fulfilled,” Wani said.He questioned

the delay in restoration of statehood and the reservation rationalisation process, saying the issues were directly linked to the future of the youth.The NC protest near Rajbagh continued for some time before police stopped the proposed march towards the BJP office, while the BJP’s march from Lal Chowk was halted at Jahangir Chowk.The two protests remained separate, with both parties putting forward their respective

political demands and accusing each other of failing to address issues concerning the people of Jammu and Kashmir.The situation remained peaceful as police personnel remained deployed at the respective protest locations and prevented the protesters from proceeding further towards their intended destinations. CNI NEWS