- Jammu and Kashmir's entire elected government was confined to their homes on Kashmir Martyrs' Day
- Chief Minister Omar Abdullah criticised newspapers for not reporting the lockdown of elected representatives
- Police restricted movement and denied regional parties permission to visit the martyrs graveyard in Srinagar
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday expressed anguish over the missing media coverage in local newspapers on the issue of "the entire elected government being locked up".
Mr Abdullah accused some newspapers of burying the news story about several elected representatives being confined to their homes on the Kashmir Martyrs' Day, as alleged by Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) chief spokesperson and Zadibal MLA Tanvir Sadiq as well.
"Take a look at our local newspapers - both from Jammu and from Srinagar, English & vernacular. You'll be able to distinguish the cowards from the ones with guts. The cowards have completely buried the fact that the entire elected government was locked up yesterday, along with most elected representatives. The newspapers with some guts have put it on the front page. Shame on the sellouts who buried the story, I hope the size of the envelope was worth it," Mr Abdullah posted on X.
Earlier, Mr Abdullah came down heavily on the "unelected nominees of New Delhi" for allegedly locking up the elected representatives of Jammu and Kashmir.
Taking to X, the Chief Minister shared pictures of police outside his residence, with armoured vehicles parked and movement restricted, as the regional parties, including the National Conference (NC), were denied permission to visit the martyrs' graveyard in Srinagar.
"To borrow from the late Arun Jaitley Sb - Democracy in J&K is a tyranny of the unelected. To put it in terms you will all understand today the unelected nominees of New Delhi locked up the elected representatives of the people of J-K," Mr Abdullah wrote in a post on X.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) MLA Mohamad Yousuf Tarigami also posted on X, saying, "A padlock on my gate, placed under house arrest and denied the right to pay homage to the July 13 martyrs. This day is etched in our collective memory -- a reminder of those who laid down their lives for the restoration of democracy and a better future for us all,"
JKNC's Sadiq alleged that several party leaders had been confined to their homes to stop them from paying tribute to the martyrs.
"Since last night, I like many of my colleagues, including the party leadership at Gupkar, the Advisor to the Chief Minister, and a majority of sitting MLAs have been locked inside my home. This is not just unfortunate; it is a deliberate attempt to suppress remembrance and deny us the right to honour the martyrs of July 13. Such actions are not only unnecessary they are unjustified, deeply insensitive, and reveal a troubling disregard for history," Sadiq posted on X.
After not being allowed to visit the martyrs graveyard, People's Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti said that the "dil ki doori (distance of hearts)" between Kashmir and the rest of India would end when the Centre accepts Kashmir's heroes as its own, just as Kashmiris have embraced national figures.
"The day you accept our heroes as your own just as Kashmiris have embraced yours, from Mahatma Gandhi to Bhagat Sing, that day, as Prime Minister Modi once said, the 'dil ki doori' (distance of hearts) will truly end," the PDP chief wrote on X.
"When you lay siege to the Martyrs' Graveyard, lock people in their homes to prevent them from visiting Mazar-e-Shuhada, it speaks volumes. July 13th commemorates our martyrs, those who rose against tyranny, much like countless others across the country. They will always be our heroes," she added.
Martyrs' Day in Kashmir was earlier an official holiday in the state; it was delisted after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
