‘Show of strength’ that wasn’t: BJP protest against Omar government marred by low turnout
On Monday, BJP workers, accompanied by party MPs and MLAs, marched towards Jammu’s Civil Secretariat. Their chief grievance was against the National Conference (NC) government led by Omar Abdullah, accusing it of failing in every aspect. The BJP leaders had warned of similar protests down the line if the government's performance did not improve. However, the protest was described as a "dismal show of strength" by local supporters of the BJP, who currently hold 29 out of Jammu’s 45 elected MLAs.
Estimates placed the number of protesters between 1,000 to 2,000. One local businessman, a BJP supporter, suggested that had all 29 MLAs and four MPs brought 500 supporters each, the turnout could have exceeded 10,000. Yet, political observers attributed the poor attendance to the issue of statehood. People were reportedly resentful over the delay in the restoration of statehood and the fact that most key positions were filled by non-local officers.
Despite reassurances from BJP leaders about eventual statehood, the NC, Congress, and PDP continue to insist on a timeline for it.
The demand for statehood was echoed in Jammu and Kashmir’s Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary’s Independence Day address. He reiterated the need for restoration of statehood, pointing out the pain and anguish among people who felt sidelined in administration. Local professors and doctors, he noted, had not received their rightful positions in universities, IIM, and IIT across the Jammu division.
Though the BJP’s leaders had warned of repeated protests if the government did not perform, Monday’s protest saw only a fraction of its potential. Among the protesters were Jammu’s Rajya Sabha member Sat Sharma, Lok Sabha member Jugal Kishore Sharma, and the Leader of the Opposition in the J&K Assembly, Sunil Sharma. They raised slogans against the NC-Congress alliance, burnt the government’s effigy, and demanded Chief Minister Abdullah’s resignation, citing “large-scale corruption” and “failure on all fronts.”
They alleged that the government was raising the statehood issue to divert attention from its failures.
Written by urgent.news from The Indian Express's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
