NC Stages Statehood Protest in Delhi

Suhail Khan

---

NEW DELHI, JULY 20: Two years after the assembly elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the National Conference government on Monday brought its fight for the region’s statehood to the doorstep of Parliament, accusing the Narendra Modi government of failing to honour its “solemn promise” made on the floor of the House and before the Supreme Court.

On the opening day of the Monsoon session, NC president and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah led a delegation of party leaders and workers to the Jammu and Kashmir House here, raising slogans of “Modi ka wada, kyun raha aadha?” and holding placards that read “Apna wada pura karo” and “Restore full statehood”. The protest came after the Supreme Court, in its December 2023 verdict, observed that statehood should be restored “at the earliest” — a direction the NC says remains cold-shouldered by the Centre.

 

“We are fighting for what was promised by the Prime Minister and the Home Minister in Parliament, and also in the Supreme Court, to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. I hope the government will respect the wishes of the people of this country. I also hope that the problems of Ladakh will be resolved and that J&K’s statehood will be restored,” Dr Farooq Abdullah told reporters at the protest site as per Kashmir Convener.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was seen walking towards the Constitution Club, where a separate seminar on the restoration of statehood was being held, a sign of the parallel tracks the party has adopted in its ongoing campaign.

Speaking to media on the sidelines of the Jantar Mantar protest, CM Omar as per Kashmir Convener said the National Conference had, for the past two years, been reminding the Central Government of the commitments made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir in Parliament and before the Supreme Court. He said the party had remained committed to its electoral mandate and passed a resolution in the very first Assembly session, seeking the restoration of the region’s special position and constitutional rights. However, CM Omar said Monday’s protest was focused solely on the restoration of statehood.

“Statehood comes first. Thereafter, we will pursue the resolutions passed by the Assembly. Everything will begin from there,” he said.

In a sharp critique of the administration’s handling of the protest, the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister further said: “We wanted to protest peacefully, but they made us a target of tear gas. Democracy is being strangled. We have come to our national capital to demand our rights. Unfortunately, they are not allowing us to protest peacefully. There are at most 100 of us who have come from Jammu and Kashmir with the hope that we would be allowed to protest peacefully at Jantar Mantar and demand our rights from the Central government.”

He said the party also wanted to remind the Centre of the promise it made on the floor of Parliament and before the Supreme Court to restore statehood to J&K after the elections. “The Supreme Court had directed the Centre to restore statehood to J&K as soon as possible. If they do not want to adhere to the Supreme Court’s directions, they should say so openly—that they will not restore statehood to J&K. We will then decide our course of action.”

Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary struck a sharper note, questioning the government’s repeated deflection. “You promised the people of J&K that you would restore statehood after the elections. It has been nearly a year and a half. Neither the Prime Minister nor the Home Minister has fulfilled that assurance. You made it in Parliament, you made it in the Supreme Court, and you made it to every single child in Kashmir. When will that ‘appropriate time’ finally come?” he asked, referring to the Centre’s standard refrain of waiting for the “right moment”.

J&K was stripped of its special status and bifurcated into two Union Territories — Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh — in August 2019. While the December 2023 Supreme Court verdict upheld the constitutional validity of the abrogation of Article 370, it also directed that the restoration of statehood be expedited. More than two years later, the NC alleges, the promise remains a “ghost”.

While the political theatre unfolded in the capital, NC workers back home staged demonstrations at district headquarters across the Valley, from the party’s headquarters at Nawa-i-Subah in Srinagar to remote townships. Raising slogans and waving placards, the cadres demanded that the Centre “honour its word”, arguing that restoration of statehood was not merely a political slogan but a prerequisite for effective governance and for safeguarding the rights and aspirations of the people.

The protests, though largely peaceful, underscored the growing restiveness within the ruling party’s rank and file over what they describe as the Centre’s “foot-dragging” on a commitment they believe was non-negotiable.

With Parliament now in session and the Opposition expected to raise the issue repeatedly, the NC’s Delhi gambit has set the stage for what could be a sustained showdown between the Valley’s political establishment and the Modi government over the final shape of J&K’s political future.