Congress leaders detained during Jammu protest

Jammu

Jammu and Kashmir Police on Sunday briefly detained senior Congress leaders during a protest march demanding the restoration of full statehood to the Union Territory. JKPCC President Tariq Hameed Karra and AICC General Secretary G.A. Mir, along with several party workers, were taken into custody and held at the Police Lines in Gandhi Nagar for nearly an hour before being released.

The 'Jammu Chalo' march, part of the Congress campaign titled Hamari Riyasat Hamara Haq, was organized to highlight growing public dissatisfaction over the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 and the subsequent bifurcation of the erstwhile state. The protest saw leaders and workers rallying through the streets of Jammu, demanding the restoration of democratic institutions and constitutional guarantees for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

A party spokesperson said the campaign had spanned all districts of the UT, building momentum around the call for statehood. After the detention, the Congress party posted on X, calling the action “shameful” and accusing the central government of suppressing peaceful dissent. “The JKPCC office in Srinagar was sealed yesterday. Today, leaders were detained for simply demanding their rights,” the post read.

Congress leader K.C. Venugopal also criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi, questioning the sincerity of his promise on statehood made in Parliament. A similar protest in Srinagar on Saturday was also blocked by police, preventing Congress workers from marching to Lal Chowk. The Congress, along with the INDIA bloc, has vowed to raise the issue of statehood restoration in the upcoming Parliament session.