Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 20

Senior Congress leader and former Sadr-e-Riyasat Karan Singh today requested Governor Satya Pal Malik for declaring a public holiday on the birthday of his father and last Dogra ruler of J&K Maharaja Hari Singh on September 23.

The demand has been made amid the growing clamour for public holiday on the birthday of Maharaja Hari Singh by various Jammu-based groups.

“For many years, there has been a strong demand to declare the birthday of my father Maharaja Hari Singh ji as a public holiday. In fact, both my sons had a resolution to this effect passed in the Legislative Council some years ago but so far no action has been taken,” Karan Singh said in a statement issued today.

“The birth anniversary will be on Monday, September 23. Let us recall that it was due to Maharaja Hari Singh ji that Jammu and Kashmir became a part of India when he signed the Instrument of Accession on October 26, 1947. Apart from that he was a progressive and farsighted ruler who instituted many social and economic reforms for the welfare of the people. For example as far back as 1929 he had declared all temples in the state open to Dalits,” Karan Singh said.

The BJP, which had been facing criticism for its failure to effectively raise the issue of public holiday while remaining part of the previous government, has planned to hold a ‘Jan Jagran Abhiyaan rally’ on September 22 at Maharaja Hari Singh Park.

The rally is expected to be attended by the top national leaders, including Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP national vice-president Shyam Jaju, Union Minister of State for PMO Jitendra Singh, and Union Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur.

On July 10, Karan Singh had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for declaring the name of the Jammu airport after Maharaja Hari Singh. In his letter, he had said it would be a fitting tribute to the man who signed the Instrument of Accession on October 26, 1947.