Mehbooba asks PDP MLAs to ensure resolution seeking holiday for ‘July 13 martyrs’ passed in House

Jammu, Mar 2 (PTI) PDP supremo Mehbooba Mufti has asked the party’s three legislators to ensure that a resolution seeking a holiday in memory of the July 13 martyrs is the first to be passed during the budget session of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, drawing sharp reactions from the ruling National Conference, which termed it “hypocrisy.”

July 13 was observed as a public holiday in Jammu and Kashmir to commemorate the 22 men who fell to the bullets of the Dogra Maharaja’s soldiers outside Srinagar Central Jail in 1931.

However, the holiday was scrapped by the Lieutenant Governor-led administration following the 2019 abrogation of Article 370 and the reorganisation of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories.

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) sources said former chief minister Mehbooba asked her party’s legislators to garner support for the resolution to push for a holiday in memory of the July 13 martyrs during the session, scheduled to begin on Monday.

However, it was not immediately clear if any PDP MLA had moved a resolution to the Assembly Secretariat seeking the declaration of July 13 as an official holiday to remember the sacrifices of the protestors.

The PDP wants the House to remember July 13 as the beginning of the political awakening of the people of Jammu and Kashmir for democratic rights, the sources said.

July 13 holds significant historical importance in Kashmir as it marks the day in 1931 when 22 Kashmiris were martyred during a protest against the “oppressive rule” of the Dogra monarchy, according to Mehbooba.

A PDP leader said, “These martyrs are remembered for their resistance against colonial and autocratic rule, symbolising the Kashmiris’ long-standing struggle for democracy and constitutional rights.”

“However, the day, which was traditionally observed as a holiday to honour the martyrs, faced a gradual erasure from public memory, especially under the Union Territory administration,” he said, adding that the holiday was eventually revoked, reflecting a deliberate attempt to downplay its significance.

The PDP views the decision, which sparked widespread resentment, as part of a “broader effort” to alter the region’s political narrative and suppress historical symbols of democratic struggle, he said.

Restoring recognition for the day holds deep symbolic value for Kashmiris, reaffirming their history and craving for democratic rights, the PDP leader said.

He claimed that, on the party’s direction, a PDP MLA had submitted a resolution to set things right and seek the restoration of July 13 as a gazetted holiday in Jammu and Kashmir, as it was before August 2019.

National Conference chief spokesperson and MLA Tanvir Sadiq, reacting to the PDP’s plan to table a resolution in the House, asked, “What hypocrisy is this!”

“The PDP and BJP formed a government together (2015-18), with Mehbooba Mufti Sahiba as the Chief Minister. Not once did her alliance cabinet colleagues pay tribute to the 13th July martyrs. Instead, the BJP went on to cancel this historic holiday, one that NC has always advocated for. This was yet another anti-people decision by them.”

“Now, these fixed-match partners in crime have suddenly woken up to play with the sentiments of the people once again. The PDP says one thing, the BJP responds with another, and the scripted drama continues,” Sadiq said in a post on X.

He added that his party is committed to restoring all the holidays that the Lt Governor administration scrapped. “Rest assured, we are committed to restoring all the holidays that the PDP-BJP government and, after that, the admin scrapped without the consent of the people. And we will do so soon!” he said.