Jammu: Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary on Monday said the National Conference’s proposed protest in New Delhi demanding the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir would reflect the collective will of its people and urged the Centre to fulfil its commitment.
Addressing a party meeting at Gandhinagar in Jammu, Choudhary said the continued delay in restoring statehood has adversely affected governance, as the elected government continues to function within an administrative framework that limits its effectiveness.
He said the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister had repeatedly assured, both inside and outside Parliament, that full statehood would be restored. “Nearly two years have passed since the elected government assumed office, yet that promise remains unfulfilled. This is not a question of the government’s performance but of respecting the democratic mandate of the people who participated in the elections in large numbers,” he said.
Referring to the changes made in 2019, the Deputy Chief Minister said the Centre had projected that Jammu and Kashmir would be placed on par with other regions of the country. However, he alleged that while other states and Union Territories have empowered governments, Jammu and Kashmir continues to face differential treatment.
Chairing the meeting, National Conference Provincial President Rattan Lal Gupta said the party’s Jammu Provincial Unit would participate wholeheartedly in the proposed Delhi protest. He also announced that the annual death anniversary of Begum Akbar Jehan Abdullah would be observed at Maharaja Hari Singh Park in Jammu, where the party’s Vice President and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah would address the gathering.
Gupta said party workers across Jammu province were fully prepared for the Delhi protest to remind the BJP-led Central Government of its commitment to restore full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. He added that extensive arrangements were also being made for the observance of Begum Akbar Jehan Abdullah’s death anniversary in Jammu.
MLA Ramban Arjun Singh Raju also addressed the meeting and assured full participation in both the Delhi protest and the public meeting in Jammu in accordance with the party leadership’s directions.
