Jammu: The BJP on Thursday held a protest against the Omar Abdullah-led National Conference government here, with party activists burning an effigy and raising slogans against its policies, particularly an Assembly resolution for greater autonomy.
The protest was led by former Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Mayor Baldev Singh Billawaria and attended by party office-bearers, activists and residents of the Gangyal area in Jammu.
Addressing the protesters, Billawaria said the BJP fully supports restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir but would oppose any attempt to use the demand to reopen constitutional issues settled by Parliament in 2019.
“Statehood and the pre-1953 agenda are two entirely different issues. The National Conference government cannot use the genuine aspiration for statehood as a vehicle to revive the politics of autonomy, Article 370 and Article 35A. Parliament has taken a historic decision, and the BJP will not allow any attempt to dilute or reverse it,” he said.
Billawaria said the protest followed the Assembly’s passage of a resolution on statehood containing references to the 2000 autonomy resolution and the 2024 special-status resolution, which he alleged showed the National Conference’s intention to keep old constitutional issues alive.
He accused the National Conference government of diverting public attention from its governance record and unfulfilled election commitments by repeatedly raising such issues.
“People want development, employment, basic amenities and accountable governance, not a return to the politics of the past. The National Conference must stop misleading the people by mixing statehood with its pre-1953 agenda,” Billawaria said.
He said the BJP would continue to oppose any move to revive Articles 370 and 35A or the pre-1953 autonomy agenda, while supporting the demand for restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
