New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday sought the support of opposition parties for the National Conference’s proposed protest in Delhi demanding restoration of statehood to the Union Territory.
The National Conference (NC) said that Abdullah invited INDIA bloc constituents to join the agitation during a meeting of the opposition alliance here.
Abdullah raised the issue at the INDIA bloc meeting and informed leaders about the party’s planned protest in the national capital, the NC said.
“In the INDIA bloc meeting held today, CM Omar Abdullah asked all the participants to join JKNC when we come to Delhi to protest for the restoration of statehood. He also informed them that we would be writing to each of them individually as well,” the party said in a post on X.
The NC had last week announced that its legislature party would stage a protest in New Delhi on the first day of the forthcoming Monsoon session of Parliament, pressing for the immediate restoration of statehood and constitutional guarantees for Jammu and Kashmir.
The issue pertains to Jammu and Kashmir’s reorganisation in August 2019, when the erstwhile state was bifurcated and downgraded into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
Abdullah raised the matter at the meeting of INDIA bloc leaders held at the Constitution Club here, where opposition parties discussed a range of political and public issues and stressed the need for greater unity against the BJP.
The NC’s announcement of a Delhi protest comes amid growing pressure on the party over the demand for restoration of statehood and special status, and follows the Centre’s engagement with groups in Ladakh seeking constitutional safeguards and statehood for the Union Territory.
In the Monday’s meeting, Abdullah urged opposition parties to look ahead to the 2029 Lok Sabha elections and emphasised that the Congress was the “glue” holding the INDIA bloc together.
The opposition alliance also decided to write to the Chief Justice of India on the issue of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and alleged “vote loot”, while unanimously demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET-CBSE row.
The alliance further decided to hold meetings every two months, with the next gathering scheduled in Hyderabad in August, while continuing coordination during the upcoming Monsoon session of Parliament.
The meeting was attended by leaders of 22 opposition parties, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress, Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress, Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD, Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti of the PDP, and leaders of Left parties.
