Srinagar, Aug. 11 -- Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera on Sunday joined the J&K Congress hunger strike in Srinagar and said that the protest was aimed to build pressure on the central government for restoration of statehood. Khera, who is chairman of Congress's media & publicity department, said that they didn't trust the promises made by central leadership. "We believe in the power of people. We believe in our party's history and its power. Even the British had come under pressure from our party. And in front of the people's power, kings and dictators come crashing down to the ground. This protest will obviously create pressure and they will have to return this right of the 1.4 crore people of Jammu and Kashmir," he said. As part of its series of protests which started last month on July 19, J&K Congress started a hunger strike from Saturday till August 20 seeking the restoration of statehood. On the launch of the hunger strike, J&K Congress president Tariq Hamid Karra said that this strike was aimed to push the government to listen to the wishes of 1.4 crore people of J&K. "August 9 coincides with Quit India Movement, which had started in 1942 in the AICC session of Maharashtra on the call of Gandhi ji and keeping that in mind, we have started a hunger strike which will be observed across J&K in all districts till August 20. It is being done so that the emotions and desires of 1.4 crore people of J&K reach this blind and deaf government," Karra said. On July 17, Lok Sabha leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had written to PM Modi to introduce a bill in the ongoing monsoon session to restore J&K's statehood. The J&K Congress then started its protest campaign on July 19 followed by a demonstration on the first day of the monsoon session in Delhi. On August 5, the party observed a 'black day' in protest against the revocation of J&K's statehood. Khera said that RSS would even consider the protests for freedom from the British futile when people were fighting the British. He said that when the statehood was revoked 5-6 years ago many promises were made. "We were promised that terrorism will be eradicated, some 5 years ago. Many promises were made on demonetisation. Don't trust their promises. The rulers sitting in Delhi don't know how to run the government. They only know word play. Everyday there is new drama and new 'mann ki baat'. The Prime Minister doesn't know how to run the government," he said. On why their alliance partner National Conference didn't join the protest, Khera said: "It is our party's program. It is in our manifesto and we are fulfilling that. And whoever wants to join, the doors are open." He said that the elected government of the union territory doesn't have enough powers. "This is an incomplete government. It doesn't have powers. More powers are with LG. In a UT system, there are many compulsions. Efforts are more, compulsions are more, one's hands and feet are tied and still one has to move forward," he said....