J&K: Ahead of Amit Shah's visit, Kashmiri Pandit employees stage protest amid terror attack fear

A day before Union Home Minister Amit Shah's trip to Jammu and Kashmir, migrant Kashmiri Pandit employees staged a protest. Amit Shah is visiting Rajouri on 13 January 2023 to meet families of terror attack victims.

The Pandit workers have been on strike for 249 days following a spate of terror attacks targeting civilians and minority community members. The striking workers have been seeking an appointment with the Lieutenant Governor to press for their transfer to "safer" areas.

"We are demanding that the employees should be relocated from Kashmir in the wake of selective and targeted killings. For the matter to be raised with the government, we are seeking a written assurance for an appointment with the LG," a protester told reporters here.

He said they have failed to get an appointment with LG Manoj Sinha despite three separate requests made to the Raj Bhawan.

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Working president of the Jammu and Kashmir Congress Raman Bhalla and BJP leaders Rajiv Pandita and Rakesh Kaul, visited the protest site, among others. However, police did not allow Bhalla to sit on a dharna with the protesters.

Another employee said they have been protesting at the relief commissioner's office here for the last 249 days and will not return to the valley under the prevailing circumstances.

(With PTI inputs)