Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], July 10 : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said that the National Conference has not received permission for its July 20 protest at Jantar Mantar in the national capital, demanding restoration of full statehood for the Union Territory.
Full statehood has been a part of JKNC's long-standing demand after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. National Conference has invited 52 leaders across party lines for the protest at Jantar Mantar.
Addressing a meeting in Srinagar, Abdullah alleged an intent on "sabotaging" the National Conference's protest.
CM Omar Abdullah said, "We are still in the process of trying to secure that permission. It didn't even take 24 hours for the cockroach party to get permission, whereas we have been at it for four or five days now. Some people are intent on sabotaging our program; they changed their dates to coincide with ours."
JKNC MLA Riyaz Ahmad Khan reiterated the party's argument that the Centre had promised to restore the statehood on the floor of the Parliament.
Riyaz Ahmad Khan said, "On June 3, a meeting of all MLAs and MPs was held; it was decided there that statehood should have been granted long ago--there has already been a significant delay. Therefore, to compel the central government and convince them of this necessity, we felt we must go to Delhi and press for this demand vigorously. You call it a protest, but I would term it a 'demand' rather than a protest, because we are seeking statehood from our own country and our own Prime Minister--not from a foreign nation or a foreign leader."
"Our Prime Minister and Home Minister have repeatedly stated on the floor of Parliament and assured the people of Jammu and Kashmir that statehood would be restored very soon. This is a matter of legal commitment. Furthermore, the central government, through its lawyers, has reiterated this stance before the Supreme Court, assuring the people of Jammu and Kashmir that statehood would be restored promptly," the MLA added.
Another party leader, Sheikh Bashir Ahmad, said that the restoration of statehood is the right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and an issue resonating across party lines.
Ahmad said, "Regarding the restoration of statehood, the Prime Minister and the Home Minister had promised in Parliament that they would restore it soon. After Parliament, they also submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court that they would restore it soon. Conditions were then imposed: first, delimitation, then parliamentary elections, then assembly elections. It's been two and a quarter years since then, and a total of seven years, so Jammu and Kashmir is a UT. Therefore, the National Conference decided in Dachigam that we would go to Jantar Mantar to protest."
"Farooq Sahab has now written letters to all stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir, as well as to national-level parties. He has also written to the BJP chief, asking them to join in. This statehood issue isn't just for the National Conference. It's a matter for everyone. Jammu and Kashmir was a very big princely state, which has been made a UT. It is the right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir that its statehood should be restored," he said.
Ahmad also defended inviting cleric and 'separatist' leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq to the Jantar Mantar protest.
"Mirwaiz Umar Farooq is a religious scholar. His ideology may be different. After all, he is a resident of Jammu and Kashmir. There is no such issue that a letter should not be written to him," he said.
According to a statement from Mirwaiz's office, he has asked the JKNC to also include restoration of Articles 370 and 35A as part of their demands for the July 20 protest.
"It is the foremost responsibility of the NC government towards the people of Jammu and Kashmir, who gave it a mandate on the clear promise that, once elected, it would revive the pre-2019 status of J&K, including restoration of statehood and Article 370 and 35A," Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said, addressing a gathering at the Srinagar Jama Masjid.
When asked about the protest invite, senior Congress leader Pawan Khera maintained that the party has long been raising the issue of the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir.
Khera told ANI, "The Congress party has long been raising the issue of statehood and calling upon everyone to support it. Kharge ji and Rahul Gandhi ji had written to the Prime Minister. When the CWC resolution was passed, we appealed to others to join this movement. It is good that he is now joining this campaign."
Following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, the Centre formed two Union Territories: Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said that the status of a state would be restored once the situation normalises.
In 2023, the Supreme Court upheld the move to abrogate Article 370, while not taking up the question of the restoration of statehood, as the Centre had submitted that it would be restored in due time.