JAMMU, Aug 12: President of Mission Statehood Sunil Dimple, along with hundreds of workers and supporters, on Wednesday led a protest rally in Jammu demanding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi announce the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood and special status in his Independence Day address from the Red Fort on August 15.
Addressing the protesters, Dimple urged the Prime Minister to make a clear announcement on the restoration of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir Dogra state and special status during his Independence Day speech. He said the people of Jammu and Kashmir had been waiting for the restoration of statehood and demanded a concrete commitment from the Union Government.
Dimple warned that if the demand was not addressed after the Monsoon Session of Parliament, Mission Statehood would consider giving a Jammu Kashmir-wide bandh call in support of the restoration of statehood. He said the movement would continue until the people’s demand was addressed.
He claimed that people across Jammu and Kashmir had launched a “revolution, Inqilab and Kranti” for the restoration of the erstwhile state and Article 370. He appealed to all political parties to rise above their differences and come together on a common platform to press for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.
Dimple alleged that the Union Government had remained non-committal on restoring the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir Dogra state. He also criticised BJP legislators from Jammu and Kashmir, alleging that the 29 BJP MLAs had remained silent on the statehood issue and that the demand for a separate Jammu state was weakening the larger demand for restoration of the erstwhile state.
He said Mission Statehood was opposed to the division of Jammu and Kashmir into separate Jammu and Kashmir states. Dimple asserted that the organisation wanted the eventual unification of Jammu and Kashmir with areas including Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit and Baltistan, which he described as integral parts of India.
Dimple reiterated that Mission Statehood would continue its campaign through democratic means and urged political parties, social organisations and the people to unite over the demand for restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.
Those present during the protest included Vikas, Mohinder Kumar, Lichi, Tarsem Lal, Ashok Sharma, Deepak, Dalip Kumar, S. Kala Singh, Surinder Kumar, Baba Kumar and several other supporters and workers.