*JKNPP leaders detained by police
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 23: Expressing their anger against PDP-BJP Government for directing the police to forcefully remove the tents, banners, party flags, quilts and mattresses from the venue of relay hunger strike of Panthers, J&K National Panthers Party (JKNPP) leaders today lamented that freedom of speech and expression had been held hostage in the incumbent regime.
Urging Dogras to express their solidarity with the Panthers Party’s crusade against discrimination with Jammu Pradesh and its youth in particular, the JKNPP leaders addressed the crowd of protesters on the 9th day of party’s 24×7 relay hunger strike near Maharaja Hari Singh statue.
Later, the party took out a huge rally comprising of hundreds of women and youth to lodge their protest against the Government’s policy of suppression, amid unprecedented deployment of security personnel. The rally which passed through Dogra Chowk, Vinayak Bazaar, Gumat was restrained by the contingent of police at Vivekananda Chowk from marching further.
The protesters had a scuffle with the police under heavy downpour and several leaders including Harsh Dev Singh, Balwant Singh Mankotia, Yash Paul Kundal, Rajesh Padgotra, Shankar Singh Chib and Sham Gorkha were arrested and detained at Police lines Jammu.
Anguished over the traumatic subjugation being experienced by the people of Jammu region over the years in all spheres, Harsh Dev Singh said that statehood for Jammu was the ultimate solution for all its problems. He appealed to the people especially the youth of Jammu to gird up their loins and join the movement launched by JKNPP for a separate statehood for Jammu Pradesh. He said the divide and rule policy of the Kashmiri rulers and their Jammu based agents needed to be exposed and vociferously countered.
Balwant Singh Mankotia and Yash Paul Kundal said that events like obnoxious policy for rehabilitation of the surrender militants and stone pelters, lathi charge on youth and women in Jammu, persistent shelling on borders by Pakistan, appeasement of secessionist forces in the valley and aversion towards the nationalist people had corroborated the fact that BJPs tall slogans like ‘Achey Din’, ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ and ‘56 inches of PM Modi’, ‘10 enemy heads against 1 India martyr’, etc. had turned into rhetoric and fallen flat.
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