Jammu and Kashmir: Nirmal Singh heckled by Dogra protesters over 'disservice' to community

Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh was heckled by Dogra community members on Saturday over the state government’s “failure” to declare Maharaja Hari Singh’s birth anniversary as a state holiday. The deputy chief minister was speaking at a function after paying floral tributes to Maharaja, the last Hindu ruler of the state, on his birth anniversary today. Scores of people, including youths wearing black T-shirts and carrying saffron flags, raised slogans against Singh and the PDP-BJP coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir. [caption id=“attachment_4074331” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Jammu and Kashmir deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh. Getty images[/caption] The protesters gheroed Singh and some of them heckled him. The minister had to cut short his speech and was escorted out by a large contingent of police. The protesters also demanded the minister’s resignation and accused the BJP of doing “dis-service” to the Jammu region. “BJP has done disservice to Jammu, which gave them 25 seats. They have failed to address one of the major aspirations of the Dogras. Despite passage of a resolution, the BJP could not facilitate a holiday on Maharaja’s birthday. It is a shame,” Sumit Singh, one of the protestors, said. The Dogra community members also blocked the deputy CM’s cavalcade. The city saw dozens of pro-Maharaja rallies on Saturday.