Jammu: The Congress’ Jammu and Kashmir unit has announced a series of protests, including the ‘Chalo Delhi’ campaign, from this week and has plans to “symbolically gherao” Parliament as part of its intensified push for statehood restoration.
The party claimed on Thursday that it was “impossible” to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood without its intervention, which has the support of 233 INDIA bloc members.
“The Jammu and Kashmir Congress has decided that it will hold a protest in Kashmir on July 19 and in Jammu on July 20 so that our message on statehood reaches the government. After that, we have the ‘Chalo Delhi’ campaign on July 21,” its chief, Tariq Hameed Karra, told reporters here.
He further said that under the ‘Delhi Chalo’ campaign, workers from every block and district of Jammu and Kashmir will leave for Delhi on July 21 under the leadership of the Congress. Once in the national capital, they and the INDIA bloc leaders would raise the issue.
The month-long Monsoon session of Parliament is set to begin on July 21.
“Our effort will be to hold protests in front of Parliament and gherao it symbolically. The goal is to raise our voice in Delhi so that it reaches all members of Parliament, among whom 233 are members of the INDIA bloc supporting our cause. This is a significant step,” Karra said.
The former minister said the campaign would stretch from Kashmir to Delhi. “Alongside 233 INDIA bloc MPs, we will raise our voice in Parliament and on the streets. This marks the beginning of a significant movement from the Congress party.”
Reacting to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah thanking the Congress for raising the statehood issue with the Centre, Karra said, “My party has led this struggle from the grassroots, not just through press statements or sitting in drawing rooms. Without the Congress’ intervention, restoring statehood would be impossible.”
Underlining that the Congress has 100 members in the Lok Sabha and 50 in the Rajya Sabha, Karra said, “It has the full backing of its allies. The letter sent by Rahul Gandhi and (Mallikarjun) Kharge-ji represents the collective strength of 233 members of the INDIA bloc. It is a significant voice in Parliament, and if anyone acknowledges that, it is a welcome step.”
On whether Congress plans to approach the Supreme Court on the issue, he said, “We had earlier clarified this point: when the National Conference brought a bill on the issue in the Assembly, we said that since the Supreme Court has deemed the government’s decision legal, for us, the achievable goal now is the restoration of statehood.”
“Since then, we have been moving forward on this issue and continuing the fight,” he said.
Karra emphasised that the Congress was working at the grassroots to make the statehood demand a people’s movement, highlighting that the current dual control system was harming the region’s development.
“People are being sensitised at the block and district levels. Unless statehood is restored, confusion and stagnation will continue,” he warned.
Responding to questions about restoring special status (Article 370), Karra reiterated Congress’s official stand on the issue and said, “After the Supreme Court upheld the government’s move as legal, our focus shifted solely to statehood restoration. We have consistently maintained this position.”
Criticising the powers given to the Lieutenant Governor under the Reorganisation Act, the Congress leader said it has made the state governed under a dual-power setup.
“Our main issue and focus is statehood, not this matter. We have repeatedly said that unless statehood is restored, this atmosphere of confusion and chaos will continue.”
He thanked Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for taking the lead in Parliament to raise Jammu and Kashmir’s concerns.
“From grassroots workers to top leadership, the Congress is committed to this cause. Unfortunately, the BJP government continues to remain indifferent to the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” Karra said.
Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi jointly wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, urging the government to bring a legislation in the upcoming Monsoon session of Parliament to grant full statehood to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
They also requested that the government bring forward legislation to include the Union Territory of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution.
