Srinagar Sees Dueling Rallies as BJP, NC Trade Barbs; Mehbooba Alleges Rigged Game
Rival BJP and NC protests in Srinagar were cordoned off by police; Mehbooba Mufti calls the handling a 'fixed match'.
Srinagar witnessed a rare political confrontation on Wednesday as workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the ruling National Conference (NC) held rival protests, forcing police to cordon off several areas to prevent clashes.
The BJP had called for a 'Secretariat Gherao' to protest against the NC government's policies on recruitment and power tariffs. Hundreds of BJP workers, led by party's J&K President Sat Sharma and Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma, gathered at Lal Chowk and attempted to march towards the civil secretariat. Police stopped the main procession at Hari Singh High Street, though a smaller group managed to reach the secretariat.
In response, the NC organised a counter-protest at Rajbagh, aiming to march towards the BJP office in Jawahar Nagar to demand accountability for promises made by the central government in Parliament and the Supreme Court. Police blocked this march as well, stopping Health Minister Sakina Itoo and several NC legislators.
The NC alleged a disparity in how the two protests were handled, posting on social media that one protest was "facilitated and allowed freely" while the other was "roughed up and restricted." The party vowed to continue fighting for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, dismissing the police action as that of the "BJP's police."
Adding to the political heat, PDP president and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti described the events as a "fixed match." She questioned why the police facilitated protests for both the BJP and NC while her own party is restricted from holding peaceful demonstrations. She demanded an explanation for the "blatant double standard" and selective application of the law.
Wednesday's face-off marked the first significant public clash between the ruling NC and the main opposition BJP since the new government took office.