JKNPP stages protest, demands resignation of dy CM, BJP MLAs

The Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) today staged a protest outside the residence of Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh against the terror attack on an Army camp here and controversial slogans by a National Conference (NC) MLA in the legislative assembly.

JKNPP activists, led by party chairman and former minister Harsh Dev Singh, gathered outside the residence of Nirmal Singh at canal road here and began shouting slogans demanding his and BJP legislators resignation.

"We gheraoed the residence of Nirmal Singh as the sinister coalition between the BJP and PDP is responsible for the deteriorating situation in the state," Harsh Dev Singh said.
 

"We sought the resignation of the deputy CM as well as the BJP MLAs for maintaining the stoic silence while the anti-national slogans were raised on the floor of the House," he said referring to NC legislator Mohammad Akbar Lone's pro-Pakistan slogans in the House last Saturday.

He said the frequent terror attacks on the camps of the security personnel had shaken the belief of the civilians on the present regime as far as the "credibility, efficiency and the intentions" of the incumbent government were concerned.

Paying homage to the slain soldiers, the JKNPP chairman said despite spurt in terror attacks the BJP-PDP government had not "learnt lessons well from its past mistakes and grossly failed to plug the holes in the security lapses which had been a root cause of such fatal attacks".

Expressing displeasure over the sloganeering by the NC legislator, he said the BJP MLAs have "hurt the nationalist sentiment once again by maintaining stoic silence while such treacherous slogans were raised on the floor of the House".

He wondered that instead of taking a strong action against the legislator for his "seditious conduct", the assembly speaker despicably allowed the proceedings of the House to carry on.

Harsh Dev Singh said it was shocking and painful that Pro-Pakistran slogans were raised from the 'temple of democracy' at the time when the operation by the Army at Sunjuwan base camp was underway.

A police contingent rushed to the scene and asked the protesters to disperse, officials said.

A group of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists had struck the Sunjuwan military camp in the wee hours on Saturday, killing seven people, including six soldiers. Three terrorists were also gunned down.