Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], August 5 (ANI): Congress and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday protested against the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir's Srinagar while raising slogans, labelling the abrogation day as 'black day'.

The protestors reiterated their demand for the restoration of statehood.

The protestors carrying the banners read, 'Black Day for Jammu & Kashmir. On this day, BJP snatched away the crown of statehood from us. People and Jammu & Kashmir will not forgive BJP.'

Labelling the abrogation of Article 370 'illegal,' PDP leader Iltija Mufti took a swipe at the centre, saying that they are not allowed to protest, despite being a 'legal party.' Citing house arrests of political leaders in 2019, she asserted that nothing has changed even after six years of the scrapping of Article 370.

'On August 5 2019, the illegal abrogation of Article 370 was done. The constitution and the flag of J&K were taken away from us. We are often asked about the change that abrogation brought here. We are a legal party, and even six years after the abrogation of Article 370, we are not being allowed to protest. We were put under house arrest six years ago and the common people of J&K, political parties and 'jamaat' were put under arrest. There has been no change even after six years,' Mufti told reporters here.

She claimed that the protestors from her party were being 'caged like animals' and were being deprived of their fundamental right to protest and speak. She alleged that the government has 'stripped' them of their special status, and efforts were being made to 'take away' their voices.

'We have been caged like animals at the PDP office. A huge CRPF vehicle has been stationed here, and we are not being allowed to move forward. Nothing has changed here. For the last week, there have been so many rumours that maybe Jammu will be separated and South Kashmir will be merged with Jammu and given statehood,' Mufti said.

'You see, people of Jammu and Kashmir are not being given any rights. There are no fundamental rights here. Which part of the Indian Constitution is being implemented here? We are being stripped of our fundamental right to speak and protest. Not just our special status, flag, and constitution, but efforts are being made to take our voices and our rights away,' she asserted.

August 5 marks six years since the abrogation of Article 370, which rendered Jammu and Kashmir of its statehood, converting the former state into three Union Territories.

Ever since the abrogation, the majority of politicians and leaders in Jammu and Kashmir have been demanding the restoration of statehood. The demand for reinstating the statehood of J-K has intensified after the Omar Abdullah government was formed, following the assembly elections.

As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) extended greetings on the abrogation day, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti called for a 15-minute blackout to mark a protest against the move taken by the government of India in 2019.

In 2019, on this day, Union Home Minister Amit Shah tabled a resolution in Rajya Sabha to scrap Article 370 and launched a scathing attack against opposition parties, including National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party and Congress, accusing the 'three families of looting' Jammu and Kashmir.

Shah had said, 'Under the umbrella of Article 370, three families looted Jammu and Kashmir for years. Leader of Opposition (Ghulam Nabi Azad) said Article 370 connected Jammu and Kashmir to India, but it's not true. Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Jammu and Kashmir Instrument of Accession on October 27 1947. Article 370 came in 1954.'

The scrapped Article 370 of the Indian Constitution gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and barred people from the rest of India from buying land in the former state. The article also limited the powers of the Parliament to make laws for Jammu and Kashmir. (ANI)