SRINAGAR — Police and security forces on Wednesday foiled separate protest marches by the National Conference (NC) and BJP in Srinagar, stopping protesters from proceeding towards their respective destinations.
The National Conference protest was held at Raj Bagh, where ministers, legislators and party workers had assembled to press for restoration of statehood and constitutional guarantees for Jammu and Kashmir.
Police stopped the protesters from proceeding towards the BJP headquarters in Jawahar Nagar.
Following the intervention, NC leaders and workers staged a sit-in at Raj Bagh and raised slogans in support of their demands. Some workers also confronted police personnel deployed at the protest site, leading to tense moments.
The protesting NC workers alleged that the BJP was using the police to suppress their voices and prevent them from raising issues concerning Jammu and Kashmir.
Meanwhile, police and security forces also foiled a BJP protest march at Hari Singh High Street in Srinagar.
BJP workers were stopped from proceeding towards the Civil Secretariat, where the party had planned to hold a protest over employment-related issues and what it described as the failure to provide jobs to local youth.
The twin protests came amid a political confrontation between the two parties over statehood, constitutional safeguards, employment and other issues concerning Jammu and Kashmir.
Security arrangements were intensified at several locations in Srinagar, with police deployments and movement restrictions imposed around areas through which the two protest marches were scheduled to pass.