The Crossbill News Desk
Political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir have drawn parallels between the restrictions imposed in New Delhi ahead of the October 10 protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the communications blackout and curbs on public assembly imposed in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders Mehbooba Mufti and Iltija Mufti criticised the measures, alleging that the curbs reflected a pattern of restricting dissent.
“Kashmir model has been exported to Delhi. Welcome to the New Delhi, modelled on the New Jammu and Kashmir,” Abdullah wrote on his personal X handle on Friday, referring to the suspension of mobile internet services in parts of central Delhi ahead of the planned demonstration.
Iltija Mufti, a senior PDP leader, also alleged that the restrictions mirrored the treatment of protesters in Kashmir. She contrasted the denial of permission to the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) with what she described as the freedom given to BJP workers to organise programmes marking the August 5, 2019, decision to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.
“Right-wing goons being allowed to enter Jantar Mantar while CJP isn’t is very much what happens in Kashmir too. Protests against the abrogation of Article 370 are always scuttled while BJP workers are given carte blanche plus full protocol and bandobast to celebrate Jammu and Kashmir’s collective humiliation on August 5, 2019. What started in Kashmir is now engulfing India,” Iltija said on X.
Her mother, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, also criticised the restrictions imposed by the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Delhi. She compared the situation in the national capital with the period following the abrogation of Article 370, when Kashmir experienced an extensive communications blackout and restrictions on movement and public gatherings.
“Today’s Delhi is a chilling reminder of Kashmir after the unconstitutional abrogation of Article 370. People were locked in their homes, the internet was shut down, and an entire region was placed under siege. The BJP then brazenly claimed that nobody had protested. Today, with Delhi under siege, trains halted and roads to Jantar Mantar sealed, they may repeat the same lie, claiming that nobody protested against Gyanesh Kumar,” Mehbooba wrote on X.
She alleged that preventing demonstrations and subsequently claiming that no protest had taken place could be used to project an absence of dissent.
“First crush the protest, then deny it ever happened. This is how enforced silence is passed off as a consent,” she said.
The comparisons refer to the sweeping restrictions imposed in Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019, when the former state was bifurcated into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Mobile internet services were suspended across the region and restored in phases, with 4G services remaining restricted in Kashmir until February 2021. Restrictions were also imposed on public assembly.
In Delhi, authorities invoked Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and suspended mobile internet services in an area around Jantar Mantar ahead of the proposed demonstration. Delhi Police reportedly deployed around 25,000 security personnel at various locations to prevent protesters from reaching the venue.
The protest organisers are demanding Kumar’s resignation, an independent inquiry into alleged irregularities in electoral-roll revisions, restoration of the January 2025 voter list and a halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.
The parallels drawn by the Jammu and Kashmir leaders have also faced criticism, with opponents questioning whether restrictions in Delhi and Kashmir should be treated as comparable.
Critics have argued that measures imposed in Jammu and Kashmir were often defended on grounds of security and governance, while similar restrictions in the national capital are now being criticised as curbs on democratic expression.
The debate has brought renewed attention to the differing political arguments surrounding restrictions on public assembly and communications, as well as the question of whether authorities apply consistent standards when dealing with protests in different parts of the country.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders Mehbooba Mufti and Iltija Mufti criticised the measures, alleging that the curbs reflected a pattern of restricting dissent.
“Kashmir model has been exported to Delhi. Welcome to the New Delhi, modelled on the New Jammu and Kashmir,” Abdullah wrote on his personal X handle on Friday, referring to the suspension of mobile internet services in parts of central Delhi ahead of the planned demonstration.
Kashmir model has been exported to Delhi. Welcome to the New Delhi, modelled on New Jammu & Kashmir.
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) October 9, 2026
Iltija Mufti, a senior PDP leader, also alleged that the restrictions mirrored the treatment of protesters in Kashmir. She contrasted the denial of permission to the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) with what she described as the freedom given to BJP workers to organise programmes marking the August 5, 2019, decision to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.
“Right-wing goons being allowed to enter Jantar Mantar while CJP isn’t is very much what happens in Kashmir too. Protests against the abrogation of Article 370 are always scuttled while BJP workers are given carte blanche plus full protocol and bandobast to celebrate Jammu and Kashmir’s collective humiliation on August 5, 2019. What started in Kashmir is now engulfing India,” Iltija said on X.
Her mother, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, also criticised the restrictions imposed by the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Delhi. She compared the situation in the national capital with the period following the abrogation of Article 370, when Kashmir experienced an extensive communications blackout and restrictions on movement and public gatherings.
“Today’s Delhi is a chilling reminder of Kashmir after the unconstitutional abrogation of Article 370. People were locked in their homes, the internet was shut down, and an entire region was placed under siege. The BJP then brazenly claimed that nobody had protested. Today, with Delhi under siege, trains halted and roads to Jantar Mantar sealed, they may repeat the same lie, claiming that nobody protested against Gyanesh Kumar,” Mehbooba wrote on X.
She alleged that preventing demonstrations and subsequently claiming that no protest had taken place could be used to project an absence of dissent.
“First crush the protest, then deny it ever happened. This is how enforced silence is passed off as a consent,” she said.
Today’s Delhi is a chilling reminder of Kashmir after the unconstitutional abrogation of Article 370. People were locked in their homes, the internet was shut down, and an entire region was placed under siege. The BJP then brazenly claimed that nobody had protested. Today, with Delhi under siege, trains halted and roads to Jantar Mantar sealed, they may repeat the same lie, claiming that nobody protested against Gyanesh Kumar. First crush the protest, then deny it ever happened. This is how enforced silence is passed off as consent.
— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) October 10, 2026
The comparisons refer to the sweeping restrictions imposed in Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019, when the former state was bifurcated into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Mobile internet services were suspended across the region and restored in phases, with 4G services remaining restricted in Kashmir until February 2021. Restrictions were also imposed on public assembly.
In Delhi, authorities invoked Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and suspended mobile internet services in an area around Jantar Mantar ahead of the proposed demonstration. Delhi Police reportedly deployed around 25,000 security personnel at various locations to prevent protesters from reaching the venue.
The protest organisers are demanding Kumar’s resignation, an independent inquiry into alleged irregularities in electoral-roll revisions, restoration of the January 2025 voter list and a halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.
The parallels drawn by the Jammu and Kashmir leaders have also faced criticism, with opponents questioning whether restrictions in Delhi and Kashmir should be treated as comparable.
Critics have argued that measures imposed in Jammu and Kashmir were often defended on grounds of security and governance, while similar restrictions in the national capital are now being criticised as curbs on democratic expression.
The debate has brought renewed attention to the differing political arguments surrounding restrictions on public assembly and communications, as well as the question of whether authorities apply consistent standards when dealing with protests in different parts of the country.
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