Nasir Khan
Srinagar, July 22 (NVI):- Youth Congress members in Srinagar staged a protest demanding statehood be restored to Jammu and Kashmir before conducting any elections.
The protesters while raising slogans in favour of statehood and argued said that holding elections while all powers remain with the Lieutenant Governor (LG) undermines the democratic process and does not address the aspirations of the people for self-governance.
Jammu and Kashmir Youth Congress held protest under the leadership of Shri Maan Singh (National Secretary IYC incharge J&K) and Shri Aakash Bharat (State President JKPYC) against the BJP led LG Administration for failing to stop repeated terrorist attacks in peaceful areas of Jammu Division which had resulted in loss of innocent civilians and Defence force personnel.
They carried banners and raised slogans emphasizing that statehood should precede elections to ensure a meaningful democratic setup where elected representatives have real authority.
The Youth Congress members contended that elections under the current Union Territory status would not serve the purpose of genuine self-rule and would merely be a facade without transferring actual powers from the LG to the elected representatives.
They said that there is no fun of conducting elections under these circumstances when all powers will lie with LG.
They demanded statehood must be restored before elections.
They alleged that the claims made by BJP government have proved hoax on ground as at the time of abrogation of article 370, they said it will end terrorism and there will be only development but ground situation is different as locals have been disempowered and terrorism is seen now in formerly peaceful areas. (News Vibes of India)
