Former Chief Minister and veteran politician Dr. Farooq Abdullah has decided to invite national leaders of different political parties to mount pressure on the Union Government to "restore democracy" in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The aim of inviting opposition leaders of all national parties in Jammu and Kashmir is to pressure the central government to hold assembly elections in the union territory to establish a popular government.
Opposition parties of Jammu and Kashmir have authorized Dr. Farooq Abdullah to personally invite all national leaders to hold rallies in different parts of Jammu and Kashmir to intensify the "restore democracy" movement in this part of the country.
Sources said that opposition parties are unanimous in authorizing the National Conference patriarch because Dr. Farooq Abdullah has personal equations with most of the opposition leaders at the national level.
A formal letter on behalf of opposition parties of J&K would be sent to all top leaders of the country to request them to address rallies across the union territory before the beginning of the campaign for the Lok Sabha polls.
Sources said that "save democracy" rallies would be started in December because most of the national leaders are busy campaigning for assembly elections in five states--Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Telangana, and Rajasthan—from November 7 to November 30.
Opposition parties organized a joint protest on Monday
On October 9 all opposition parties staged a demonstration against the BJP-led government for adopting delay tactics in holding maiden assembly elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Leaders and workers of various parties including the National Conference, Peoples' Democratic Party, Congress, CPI(M), National Panthers Party (NPP), Awami National Conference, Shiv Sena (UBT), Awami National Conference, and social organizations turned up for the protest.
Omar dares Centre to conduct assembly polls in J&K
Encouraged by the result of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Kargil elections, Vice President of the National Conference Omar Abdullah observed the fear factor of the BJP is the reason for holding assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
Omar said that his party is always ready for the election but neither the central government nor BJP is ready as they are scared to face the people in Jammu and Kashmir.
"Fear gripped the BJP, especially after the debacle of the party in the LAHDC-Kargil polls," he said and blamed the Election Commission of India for not deciding to hold assembly polls in J&K.
He said that there is no reason to delay assembly elections in J&K because the Union Government repeatedly claimed that normalcy has been restored in the UT.
