New Delhi: Escalating the political showdown over Jammu and Kashmir’s political status, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, ministers, MLAs and party workers staged a protest in the national capital on Monday, demanding immediate restoration of statehood to the Union Territory.
The demonstration, held on the opening day of Parliament’s Monsoon Session, was, however, overshadowed by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protest march to Parliament.
Omar Abdullah, who arrived from Jammu in the morning, was unable to reach the protest venue at Jantar Mantar due to the heavy deployment of police personnel for the CJP protest.
The group of around 100 NC protesters gathered with placards reading “Apna wada pura karo” (fulfill your promise) and “Restore full statehood,” raising slogans targeting the Union government over the delay in restoring statehood.
The chief minister later tried to reach the Constitution Club, where a seminar on statehood was scheduled, but was stopped by police. Wearing a jacket emblazoned with “Restore Statehood”, Omar sat on the pavement on Ashoka Road, where some youngsters participating in the CJP protest also joined him.
The protesters also raised slogans such as “Modi ka wada, kyun raha aadha? (Why has Modi’s promise remained unfulfilled?)”.
Police allegedly used tear gas to disperse the growing crowd near the Constitution Club while the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and his supporters were holding the sit-in.
Addressing reporters later, Omar Abdullah criticised the Centre and the Delhi Police over the action.
“…here, along with the rest of the people, we were also targeted by tear gas. It is such a shame,” Omar said.
“We came to Delhi with around 100 supporters to press the Centre for early restoration of statehood, but we are not allowed to protest peacefully here either. Democracy is being strangled,” he added.
Condemning the police action, he said young people who had gathered from different parts of the country seeking justice had been subjected to tear gas.
“They were harassed during the NEET exam. They were tense and stressed, and for that, they wanted someone to take responsibility. But today, tear gas was used mercilessly on them. It is such a shame,” he said.
Omar said the protest was aimed at holding the Centre accountable to its explicit commitments made before both houses of Parliament and the Supreme Court.
“We came to Delhi to remind the central government that they promised the Supreme Court and the public that statehood would be restored immediately after elections,” Omar said.
“We are repeatedly told that statehood will be restored at the appropriate time, but no one tells us when that appropriate time actually is. Coming from a remote corner of the country, our voices are often overlooked; that is why we were forced to demonstrate here today,” he added.
With his convoy caught in a massive traffic jam near Patel Chowk, Omar later took an autorickshaw to Jammu and Kashmir House on Prithviraj Road.
Farooq Abdullah urged the Modi administration to respect the democratic mandate of the region.
“We are fighting for full statehood, which was promised by the prime minister and the home minister,” he said.
“I hope the government will respect the wishes of the people, work for the good of this country, address the issues in Ladakh, and restore statehood without further delay,” Abdullah said.
Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary echoed the sentiment, noting that the alliance partners, including the NC and the Congress, had assembled in Delhi out of sheer necessity.
“You promised the people of Jammu and Kashmir that statehood would be restored after the elections,” Choudhary said.
“It has been nearly a year and a half, yet neither the prime minister nor the home minister has fulfilled that assurance. When will the appropriate time finally come?” he said.
Jammu and Kashmir was downgraded and bifurcated into two Union Territories on August 5, 2019, and stripped of its special status.
While the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the move in December 2023, the bench explicitly directed the Union government to restore statehood at the earliest opportunity.
Meanwhile, the ruling National Conference on Monday staged protests across Jammu demanding restoration of statehood of Jammu and Kashmir, with party leaders and workers accusing the Centre of reneging on its commitment despite the formation of a popular government in 2024.
The party’s district unit organised the main demonstration in Jammu, while similar protests were held at district headquarters across the region.
Simultaneously, senior NC leaders and legislators joined the party’s protest under the leadership of party president and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah in Delhi.
Hundreds of NC activists carrying party flags and placards assembled at party headquarters at Residency Road and took out a rally to City Chowk, chanting slogans in support of the demand for restoration of statehood to the J&K.
NC’s Jammu provincial secretary Sheikh Bashir said the protests were part of a coordinated campaign being carried out across Jammu and Kashmir to press for the restoration of statehood.
“Our demand is clear — restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. This is our rightful demand and our legitimate right,” he said, adding the party’s senior leadership and MLAs were participating in the protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.
He said NC vice-president and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also left for Delhi to join the demonstration in the national capital.
Party’s provincial joint secretary Ankush Abrol said the NC’s top leadership was fully committed to the cause of statehood.
He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had assured Parliament and the people of J&K that statehood would be restored after the elections, but they failed to fulfill their promise.
“That is precisely why we are on the streets today,” he said.
The NC leaders urged the Centre to fulfill its commitment and restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir without further delay, asserting that the demand represented the aspirations and democratic rights of the people.
NC workers also staged protests at district headquarters across Kashmir in support of the demand for restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
