SRINAGAR: Leader of Opposition in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly and BJP leader Sunil Sharma on Monday said his party supports the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir but opposes linking the issue with demands related to the erstwhile constitutional position of the region.
Addressing reporters in Srinagar, Sharma said the ongoing Assembly session should focus on public welfare, development and governance issues rather than what he described as settled constitutional questions.
He said the BJP would support any resolution confined exclusively to the restoration of statehood.
“Statehood is the agenda of the BJP, and we are firmly committed to it. If the Chief Minister brings only a statehood resolution, we will support it,” Sharma said, adding that the process could not be rushed through unilateral deadlines.
The BJP leader objected to references in the government-backed resolution to the 2000 autonomy resolution and the 2024 special-status resolution, arguing that these had linked the statehood issue with matters concerning Jammu and Kashmir’s constitutional status before 1953.
He also sought clarification from the Congress on whether it supported the restoration of the constitutional arrangement that existed before 1953, including provisions associated with Articles 370 and 35A.
Sharma alleged that references to the earlier constitutional framework had introduced issues unrelated to statehood into the debate. He further said Jammu and Kashmir’s security situation required caution in handling such matters and asserted that there was no place for what he termed a “Pakistan agenda” in the Union Territory.
The BJP leader also criticised Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather for allowing the resolution to be taken up despite objections from opposition members.
He said the BJP had moved a motion seeking the Speaker’s removal and would pursue the matter through what he described as democratic and constitutional means.
Referring to the pre-1953 constitutional arrangement, Sharma argued that subsequent political developments, including the 1975 Indira-Sheikh Accord, should be taken into account in any discussion on the issue.
He also announced that the BJP would organise protests across Jammu and Kashmir against the resolution, particularly its references to the pre-1953 constitutional position.
Sharma said the party would continue to raise issues related to governance and development while maintaining its support for statehood restoration and opposition to proposals concerning the former constitutional framework of Jammu and Kashmir.
