AAP holds protest demanding restoration of J-K statehood

Jammu (Jammu & Kashmir)[India], February 2 : Demanding the restoration of statehood in Jammu & Kashmir, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday held a massive protest demonstration in Jammu near the statue of Maharaja Hari Singh.
In a press statement, AAP said a large number of party leaders joined the protest and many party leaders were also detained by police during this protest.
It further that restoration of statehood is the demand of every single citizen of Jammu & Kashmir but the BJP government is ignoring this demand thereby hurting the aspirations of the people.
Aam Aadmi Party leaders who were part of the protest said that the government has promised the people of Jammu & Kashmir even from the floor of parliament that statehood will be restored at the earliest and appropriate time but this promise is several years old now and the people of J&K are still waiting.
"Parliament is the biggest house of democracy in the country and announcement made from its floor holds immense value but unfortunately the BJP and the government have peddled lies from this esteemed floor also. BJP has minimised democracy. Local bodies are being considered as government of people but this holds no basis as a public elected democratic form of state government can never be replaced by any other means," the statement reads.
Aam Aadmi Party leaders further raised the issue of the plight of people in Jammu & Kashmir due to the high-handed approach of the bureaucratic setup of the Lieutenant Governor's administration.
"This is a very old proverb that even the weakest form of a public elected government is better than the bureaucratic rule and unfortunately people of Jammu & Kashmir are under bureaucratic rule since more than four years as BJP has choked the democratic process leaving people in a state of democratic helplessness," the statement reads.
The press statement further reads, "The most specific failure of the bureaucratic setup of L-G administration government in Jammu & Kashmir is the protest by the employees of government, as the employees from different government departments are on dharna since long."
During the protest, party leaders also raised several issues, include rising rate of unemployment, irregularities and scams that are affecting recruitment processes, large-scale power curtailment and poor condition of roads.