JAMMU: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday staged protests across several districts of Jammu and Kashmir against the National Conference-led government over the Assembly’s recently passed resolution on statehood.
The protests were organised after the Assembly adopted a resolution on restoration of statehood that, according to the BJP, contained references to the 2000 autonomy resolution and the 2024 special-status resolution.
Addressing a protest at Kachi Chawni Chowk in Jammu, Lok Sabha MP Jugal Kishore Sharma said the BJP supports the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir but opposes any attempt to link the demand with the pre-1953 constitutional arrangement or the restoration of Articles 370 and 35A.
Sharma said the Assembly should focus on governance, development, employment and public welfare issues rather than constitutional matters that, according to the BJP, have already been settled. He said the party would continue its democratic protests against the government on the issue.
Former MLC Vibodh Gupta questioned the inclusion of references to earlier autonomy and special-status resolutions in the statehood resolution and alleged that the move was intended to revive constitutional issues that had already been resolved.
District BJP president Rajesh Gupta, who led the Jammu protest, said party workers were opposing the language and references contained in the Assembly resolution.
According to the BJP, protests were also held in several districts, including Jammu Border, Jammu North, Kathua, Samba, Basohli, Ramban and Kishtwar. In Samba, the demonstration was attended by BJP leaders Rashpaul Verma, Arun Sharma and Keshav Dutt Sharma, among others.
The party also claimed that protests were organised in several districts of Kashmir, including Srinagar, Shopian, Anantnag, Baramulla and Ganderbal.