A day after the Jammu and Kashmir Police placed several Kashmiri leaders under house arrest to stop them from visiting the historic martyrs’ graveyard, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Jammu and Kashmir National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah, along with other National Conference leaders, managed to reach Srinagar’s old city on Monday morning to honour the 22 civilians who lost their lives on July 13, 1931.
Claiming that he was "grappled" by cops, he said: “They tried to physically grapple me, but I was not going to be stopped today.” However, he scaled a wall to reach the graveyard.
“Paid my respects & offered Fatiha at the graves of the martyrs of July 13, 1931. The unelected government tried to block my way, forcing me to walk from Nawhatta Chowk. They blocked the gate to Naqshband Sahab shrine, forcing me to scale a wall,” the Chief Minister shared on his social media handle X.
He shared a video on X, and stated that he was "physically grappled." “But I am made of sterner stuff & was not to be stopped. I was doing nothing unlawful or illegal. In fact, these “protectors of the law” need to explain under what law they were trying to stop us from offering Fatiha,” he added.
Jammu and Kashmir Minister Sakina Itoo also visited the graveyard.
The top leadership offered prayers and floral tributes at the historic graveyard, reaffirming the party’s deep-rooted commitment to the legacy of those who laid down their lives fighting brutal Dogra rule.
The move came a day after the police and LG administration prevented political leaders from visiting the site on Martyrs’ Day itself. JKNC had expressed their frustration over the house arrest of the senior leadership, terming the decision as “undemocratic and disrespectful to history.”
Earlier, its chief spokesperson and MLA for Zadibal, Tanvir Sadiq, strongly criticised the actions of the Jammu and Kashmir administration, calling it unprecedented for a "non-elected government to clamp down on an elected one."
During his media interaction, Sadiq said what happened yesterday has happened for the first time in J&K’s history and nothing can be more shameful than this.
He said houses of ministers, including the Deputy Chief Minister, were sealed, and the entire elected dispensation was rendered non-functional.
“You shut down the home of a minister, a deputy CM, who himself was a deputy CM in Jammu. You shut down all our ministers and advisors. You shut down the MLAs,” he said.
Sadiq questioned the motive behind the restrictions. “What do you want to show the world? That there is no democracy here? Or do you want to give a new version of democracy?” he asked.
Apart from condemning what he termed the LG administration’s undemocratic ruling, Tanvir also sharply criticised the major opposition parties in Jammu and Kashmir.
The PDP, Altaf Bukhari, PC, all these people are behind us,” he said. “Perhaps they are afraid. I think the PDP is afraid, and the PC is afraid. They did not raise a finger on the BJP government even once,” Sadiq said.
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