JAMMU, Jun 19: Mission Statehood President Sunil Dimple on Friday led a strong protest rally at Rehari Chungi in Jammu, demanding the immediate restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood and calling for a united struggle by all political parties on the issue.
Addressing the protesters, Dimple said he had been fighting for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood since August 5, 2019, and had even approached the Supreme Court in pursuit of the cause. He claimed that he was among the first voices to raise the issue after the constitutional changes of 2019.
Welcoming the reported move of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and National Conference legislators to protest in Delhi during the forthcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament, Dimple announced that he too would stage a protest and dharna at Jantar Mantar in support of statehood restoration.
He appealed to all political parties, including the National Conference, Congress, PDP and BJP, to come together on a common platform and jointly launch a mass movement for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood. He also urged Members of Parliament from all parties to join the proposed protest at Jantar Mantar.
Dimple said that during his visit to Delhi, he would meet senior legal experts and discuss the issue of statehood restoration. He alleged that despite assurances and developments related to the matter, the Centre had not restored Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.
Stating that Mission Statehood would support every political party fighting for the cause, Dimple said the demand for statehood had now become a common demand across the political spectrum. He also expressed support for the National Conference’s proposed protest on the issue.
Criticising the BJP, Dimple alleged that the party was backtracking on its promises regarding statehood restoration. He claimed that he had been arrested several times in the past and had even observed hunger strikes while in jail to press for the demand.
Warning of a larger agitation, Dimple threatened to call for a Jammu and Kashmir bandh if the demand continued to be ignored. He also accused the Union Government and the Ministry of Home Affairs of not showing commitment towards restoring statehood.
Dimple further alleged that BJP legislators from Jammu and Kashmir had remained silent on the issue and said such silence was weakening the movement for statehood.
Among those who participated in the protest were Ashok Sharma, Vikas, Mohinder, Narender Chowdhary, Baba Gupta, Mohinder Kumar, Happy, Rocky Kapoor, S. Harjeet Singh, Shami and several other supporters of Mission Statehood.