Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, May 5: A police officer was among 12 persons injured in clashes that erupted as protests rocked Srinagar city leading to chaos in the City Centre on the occasion of re-opening of Darbar Move here today.
Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) today took out a protest rally against what it termed “unholy coalition” of PDP with the BJP for power.
PCC president, Ghulam Ahmad Mir, told reporters here: “PDP polarised the situation before the elections and sought votes from the people on the pretext of stopping the BJP from coming to power, but now it is the PDP which brought the BJP to power. It is an unholy coalition.”
Mir alleged that Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed broke the promises he made with the people of the Valley before elections. “We want to remind Mufti that he is in power with the help of the same party against which he had sought votes from the people. We want to ask him that what was his compulsion to join hands with the BJP?”
“He told people that it was only the PDP which could have stop the BJP, but now RSS flags adorn his office. We will fight against this unholy alliance,” said JKPCC president.
Mir and hundreds of his party workers said the people have understood the real intentions of Mufti and would teach him a lesson.
Mir and hundreds of his party workers tried to lead the protest rally from the party headquarters at M A Road towards the Civil Secretariat where offices opened today but they were stopped at Budshah Chowk by the police.
As Mir was addressing the Congress activists at Budshah Chowk, a group of youths from the adjoining Maisuma locality raised pro-freedom slogans and pelted stones at the rally, prompting the activists to disperse.
Police chased the youth away and later the stone-pelting on Police continued for several hours in which Station House Officer of Police Station Maisuma, Reyaz Ahmad and two police men were injured. At least nine protesters were also injured in the police action.
Police fired tear smoke shells on the protesters to disperse them and the ding dong battles continued for several hours.
As the ding dong battles in Maisuma were going on, Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation (KTMF), carried out protest demonstration from Lal Chowk and were marching towards Civil Secretariat when police intercepted them at Budshah Chowk.
Traders were demanding rehabilitation of the flood hit traders. As traders blocked the main road, police fired tear gas to disperse them. Police chased the protesters away as they refused to lift the blockade of the main road.
And in response to the traders strike in Srinagar, shops remained shut in the capital city and other towns.
The strike was called by Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation (KTMF) coinciding with the re-opening of the Civil Secretariat here today.
Police today detained Independent MLA Sheikh Abdul Rashid when he tried to take out a march to the Civil Secretariat here against the proposed plan of setting up of separate townships for Kashmiri Pandit migrants.
Rashid along with his supporters took out a protest march from Batamaloo towards the Civil Secretariat against the proposed plan.
As soon as the Independent MLA from Langate reached the Fire and Emergency headquarters, the police took him into preventive custody and lodged him at Police Station Shaheedgunj.
Rashid was later taken to his residence in Jawahar Nagar by a police party. He said that he is not against the return of the Pandits but opposed the move to create separate colonies for them. “We are against the separate townships. We welcome the Pandits, but they should settle at their native places,” he said.
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