States » NorthPosted at: Sep 28 2026 10:01PM


Political reactions sharpen after J&K Assembly passes statehood resolution

Srinagar, Sep 28 (UNI) The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly’s passage of a resolution seeking the immediate restoration of full statehood triggered sharp political reactions on Monday.
Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary questioned the BJP’s opposition to the Assembly resolution seeking restoration of statehood, saying the party should explain its position on an issue that he described as a commitment made by the Centre.
Choudhary said the government had brought the statehood resolution in the House and questioned the BJP’s protests against it.
“Ask them who is against statehood. We brought the resolution of statehood here,” he told reporters outside J&K Assmebly.
The ruling Jammu and Kashmir National Conference welcomed the Legislative Assembly’s passage of a resolution seeking restoration of statehood, urging the union Government to respect the decision of the elected House and act in accordance with the aspirations of the people.
In a joint statement, NC provincial presidents Kashmir Showkat Ahmad Mir and Jammu Rattan Lal Gupta said the Centre had failed to fulfil its commitment to restore statehood despite two years having passed since the elected government was formed.
They said the first Cabinet meeting had passed a resolution seeking statehood restoration and forwarded it to the Centre, but no tangible outcome had emerged.
The leaders termed the Assembly resolution “historic” and said it reinforced the demand for restoration of statehood.
They also alleged that the BJP, through the Lieutenant Governor’s office, was creating hurdles in the functioning of the elected government, including on daily-wager regularisation and reservation issues.
The NC urged the Centre to allow the elected government to function without obstruction.
The resolution, moved by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, was passed amid protests and a walkout by BJP legislators. The House resolution called upon the Government of India for the “immediate and urgent restoration of full statehood” to Jammu and Kashmir.
Congress MLA and senior party leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir said the restoration of statehood was a commitment made by the Centre and should be fulfilled without further delay.
Referring to the developments following August 5, 2019, Mir said the bifurcation and downgrading of Jammu and Kashmir were unprecedented.
“There is no example of this in India or the entire world of downgrading or bifurcating an established state and taking away its power. I saw this for the first time in a democratic country, in India, with BJP in power,” Mir told reporters outside the Assembly.
He recalled the all-party meeting held with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 24, 2021, saying the sequence communicated at the time was delimitation, elections and restoration of statehood.
Mir said people participated in the 2024 elections with the expectation that statehood and powers would subsequently be restored.
“Two years have passed,” he said, urging the government to fulfil its commitment.
He also criticised BJP legislators for not participating in the debate and said they could have placed their arguments on record.
PDP MLA Waheed Para, however, described the resolution as statehood “vague”, arguing that it did not clearly mention Article 370, Article 35A or autonomy.
He said his party supported the resolution but maintained that the wording did not reflect what he described as the broader expectations of the people.
Para said several amendments had been moved seeking references to autonomy and Articles 370 and 35A.
He also accused the government of diverting attention from issues including unemployment and protests by daily wagers, NHM employees and medical interns.
CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said the Assembly passed resolution which addressed important concerns of the people.
He said the fundamental issue before Jammu and Kashmir was the restoration of powers that had been taken away.
“It would have been good if the members of BJP also supported the House,” Tarigami said, adding that the BJP legislators could have participated in the debate and presented their arguments.
Tarigami also linked the statehood demand with other issues facing the government, including regularisation of daily wagers and reservation-related concerns.
Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) leader and MLA Langate Sheikh Khursheed, while supporting the resolution on restoration of statehood, said that Jammu & Kashmir’s political identity and democratic rights must be restored.
“Our political identity was taken away, our political rights were curtailed, our flag was removed and our emblem was taken away. What was taken away from the people of Jammu & Kashmir must be returned to them,” Sheikh Khursheed said.
Taking a dig at the National Conference’s repeated references to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2024 commitment on statehood, Sheikh Khursheed while speaking on the NC’s resolution on statehood in Jammu Kashmir Assembly, said the political discourse cannot selectively remember promises according to convenience.
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Tags: #Political reactions sharpen after J&K Assembly passes statehood resolution
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