Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday, 2 September foiled separate protest marches by the ruling National Conference (NC) and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Srinagar, with security forces erecting barricades and detaining some demonstrators as the two parties clashed with police at different points across the city.

What Each Party Planned

The BJP had organised a gherao of the civil secretariat in the Batmaloo area, while the NC had planned a counter-march to the BJP's office in the Jawahar Nagar locality. Both marches were halted before reaching their intended destinations after protesters clashed with security personnel.

Senior NC leaders who joined the march included Health and Education Minister Sakina Itoo, and legislators Tanvir Sadiq, Salman Sagar, Ahsan Pardesi, Shamima Firdous, and Hilal Parray. The NC protesters raised slogans demanding restoration of Article 370, statehood, and other constitutional guarantees for Jammu and Kashmir. Police stopped the group near Rajbagh police station, where barricades had been placed, and took some protesters into preventive custody.

NC's Frustration Over Pending Commitments

Nasir Aslam Wani, advisor to the Chief Minister, told reporters on the sidelines of the NC protest that the government felt compelled to demonstrate publicly after two years of waiting. 'Understand why we are compelled to stage this protest. For two years, we have been sitting patiently and waiting with the hope that the promises made to us would be fulfilled. People had expected statehood to be restored after the elections, but no concrete discussion had taken place on the issue,' he said.

Wani pointed to the stalled reservation rationalisation issue as a particular grievance, noting that the Cabinet had already approved the matter and forwarded it to the Lieutenant Governor, but it remained pending. 'This is an issue directly linked to the future of our youth, but it is also being delayed, and no decision has been taken on it,' he said. He added that the government had been informed of queries received from Delhi, after which the matter was returned to the Cabinet — a process he described as a circular delay.

Wani also flagged the prolonged vacancy in the position of Advocate General, saying it was holding up several legal matters. 'The situation has reached such an extent that even the Advocate General has not been appointed yet,' he said.

BJP Stopped at Jahangir Chowk

The BJP march, led by Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma and General Secretary for J&K party affairs Ashok Koul, assembled at the Lal Chowk city centre before attempting to proceed to the secretariat. Heavy police and security deployment had been made along the route. Protesters were halted at Jahangir Chowk and their attempts to breach the barricades were foiled.

Speaking to reporters, Sunil Sharma said the turnout at the BJP protest demonstrated the failure of the Omar Abdullah-led NC government. He alleged that the NC had not fulfilled a single promise from its election manifesto since coming to power.

The Broader Political Context

The twin protests mark a notable moment in J&K's post-reorganisation political landscape — a ruling party and the principal opposition both taking to the streets on the same day, with police stopping both. The NC's demands for statehood restoration and reservation rationalisation reflect ongoing friction between the elected government in Srinagar and the Centre over the scope of the administration's authority under the Union Territory framework. Notably, this is among the first instances of the NC — which governs J&K — staging a public protest against the Centre since assuming office, underscoring the unusual constitutional arrangement in which a ruling party must still petition Delhi on core governance matters.

With statehood restoration and reservation policy both unresolved, and the Advocate General post unfilled, pressure on the Centre from Srinagar is likely to intensify in the weeks ahead.