Kashmir Pen News Bureau
Kolkata/Srinagar | July 14: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has strongly condemned the reported restrictions placed on Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah during his attempt to visit the Martyrs’ Graveyard in Srinagar.
In a sharply worded post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Mamata Banerjee wrote:
“What is wrong in visiting the graveyard of martyrs? This is not only unfortunate, it also snatches the democratic right of a citizen. What happened this morning to an elected Chief Minister @OmarAbdullah is unacceptable. Shocking. Shameful.”
Her remarks come a day after Omar Abdullah was allegedly blocked by security forces from entering the Naqshband Sahib shrine complex that houses the Mazar-e-Shuhada (Martyrs’ Graveyard). He was ultimately seen scaling a wall to access the site, where he offered Fatiha on Martyrs’ Day — observed annually to honour the memory of 22 Kashmiris who were killed by the Dogra regime on July 13, 1931.
Banerjee’s condemnation adds to the mounting criticism against the administration’s handling of Martyrs’ Day and its alleged suppression of political activity in the Union Territory. Leaders from multiple parties have decried what they describe as an erosion of democratic rights and an attempt to rewrite historical narratives by preventing tributes to the 1931 martyrs.
As of now, there has been no official response from the J&K administration regarding Mamata Banerjee’s remarks.
