NC march towards Civil Sectt to highlight PDP-BJP failures foiled;55 NC workers injured in police lathicharge, hundreds detained

 STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Hundreds of National Conference workers, including senior functionaries, on Monday were detained after being mercilessly cane-charged by police to stop their march towards Civil Secretariat, which opened in the winter capital this morning on bi-ennial Durbar Move, to register protest over total failure of PDP-BJP Government in Jammu and Kashmir.
In the melee nearly 55 workers sustained injuries, one of them seriously as the police brutality did not even spare the women activists who formed part of the huge rally, comprising thousands, which took off from Sher-e-Kashmir Bhavan around noon. As the senior leaded pleaded with the police that they were holding peaceful demonstrations, as per democratic spirit, they were heckled and moved towards waiting buses and shifted to District Police Lines. The seriously hurt is Anoop Sharma is under observation in the hospital for his head injuries.
Prominent among those detained included Provincial President Devender Singh Rana besides senior leaders Surjeet Singh Slathia, Ajay Kumar Sadhotra, Dr Kamal Arora, MLA, Syed Mushtaq Ahmed Shah Bukhari, Babu Ram Pal, Rattan Lal Gupta, Th Kashmira Singh, Th Rachpal Singh, Choudhry Haroon, District President Jammu Dharamveer Singh Jamwal and others.
The rally carried placards, listing the failures of the government and its intolerance to dissent. The protesters were raising slogans against the PDP-BJP duo for bringing the state to such a morass, exit from which appears to be difficult.
Add General Secretary National Conference Dr Sheikh Mustaffa Kamal also joined the rally.
Before starting for the Civil Secretariat, the senior leaders expressed anguish over continued border hostilities, resulting in deaths of several civilians as also soldiers, dislocation of thousands of border dwellers, lack of safe accommodation to lodge the displaced people, absence of medicare and other essentials. They said that fear psychosis had engulfed the entire belt of Line of Control from Subzian and Balakote in Poonch to Arnia in Ramnagar, R. S Pura, Hiranagar, Rangoor along International Border. While a colossal damage has been caused to standing crops and residential infrastructure, the border dwellers were clueless about sanity prevailing on borders so that they can rehabilitate their homes and hearths again. “The border dwellers were genuinely feeling left in lurch”, they maintained.
Later, the detained functionaries of the National Conference were let-off from District Police Lines.
National Conference President Dr Farooq Abdullah and Working President, Omar Abdullah condemned the lathi-charge on peaceful party rally held in the winter capital, saying muzzling voice of people and showing intolerance to dissent does not augur well for democracy.
Later, Dr Abdullah visited the Government Medical College, Hospital, Jammu, to enquire about the health of Youth National Conference activist, Anoop Sharma, who sustained grievous head injuries due to police lathicharge near City Chowk early in the day.
Accompanied by Provincial President, Devender Singh Rana and senior leader and former minister Surjeet Singh Slathia, the National Conference President wished the injured party activist early recovery.