Jammu and Kashmir was stripped of its statehood after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. Since then Centre has often assured restoration but is yet to despite demands.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the National Conference was still awaiting permission from the Delhi authorities to hold its proposed protest at Jantar Mantar on July 20, alleging that attempts were being made to derail the party’s campaign for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.
The proposed sit-in protest is scheduled to coincide with the opening day of Parliament’s Monsoon Session and is being projected by the ruling NC as a major political mobilisation to press the Centre to fulfil its commitment to restore statehood to the Union Territory.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function, CM Omar said the party had applied for permission several days ago but was yet to receive approval.
Referring to another organisation’s protest, the CM said that while permission had reportedly been granted to it within 24 hours, the NC had been waiting for four to five days for approval.
The protest forms part of the NC’s intensified campaign seeking restoration of J&K’s statehood, which was revoked after the erstwhile state was reorganised into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in August 2019. The Centre has repeatedly maintained that statehood would be restored at an appropriate time after the completion of the democratic process, a position it has also conveyed before the Supreme Court during hearings on petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370.
In an effort to build a broad political consensus, the NC has invited 52 political and religious leaders from across the country to participate in the July 20 demonstration.
From J&K, invitations have been extended to Democratic Progressive Azad Party Chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad, PDP President Mehbooba Mufti, BJP’s J&K President Sat Sharma, Apni Party President Altaf Bukhari, People’s Conference Chairman Sajjad Lone, J&K Congress President Tariq Hameed Karra, CPI(M) leader Muhammad Yusuf Tarigami, Awami Ittehad Party President and MP Engineer Rashid, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Grand Mufti Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam, among others.
The outreach across party lines comes days after the National Conference convened a meeting of civil society representatives in Srinagar, where more than 150 representatives unanimously adopted a resolution urging the Centre to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood without further delay.
