Srinagar: BJP members stage protest against J&K administration

Members and workers of the BJP are agitating against the J&K administration for “not providing security to the panchayat members, corporators and political workers”

In a rare protest, members and workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Srinagar held a protest against the J&K administration for “not providing security to the panchayat members, corporators and political workers”.

Members of the BJP protesting in Srinagar on Tuesday. They are alleging that the J&K administration is “compromising on the security issues of the political workers”. (Waseem Andrabi/HT)

The protesting BJP workers also raised slogans against the officers of the J&K administration and alleged that the administration was “compromising on the security issues of the political workers”.

The protesters claimed that even officers in the administration didn’t bother to pick their phone calls.

Post-abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of the state into two UTs on August 5, 2019, this is the first time when BJP workers organised protests against the administration.

BJP spokesperson Altaf Thakur, who was also a part of Tuesday’s agitation, said that they organised the protest to highlight their grievances, especially the security related issues of sarpanches, corporators and political workers of Kashmir, whose security and accommodations were withdrawn amid a serious threat in the backdrop of the rise in civilian killings.

Thakur said that withdrawal of accommodation to the panches and sarpanches has resulted in the privacy issues and security related problems.

“These are the elected representatives of people and not the prisoners,” he said, adding that in 14 hotels booked in Srinagar, more than six leaders are being kept together which is a clear breach of security.

Altaf Thakur said that it was unfortunate that these leaders were thrown out of their personal accommodations and kept as “herd of sheep in hotel rooms”.

He alleged that officials have been providing wrong feedback to L-G Manoj Sinha.

“This is a grave issue that needs to be addressed. Our workers are highlighting problems on the behalf of all political workers and panchayat members, especially when militants are killing civilians and looking for soft targets.”