Srinagar, July 13 -- The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference President Dr. Farooq Abdullah Sunday denounced the imposition of restrictions that prevented party leaders, legislators, and YNC workers from offering Fatiha and floral tributes at Mazar-e-Shohada, Khawaja Bazar, on the solemn observance of 13th July Martyrs' Day.

Calling the move a "shameful assault on democratic values" Dr. Farooq said that the martyrs of 13 July 1931 laid down their lives for principles of justice, representation, and dignity, principles that are now enshrined in the very Constitution the government claims to uphold.

"Preventing people from remembering 13 July martyrs is not governance but suppression. It is a blatant betrayal of the very ideals for which...