Protest seeking J&K’s statehood to continue, say Farooq Abdullah, Omar
Jammu and Kashmir ruling National Conference chief and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah on Thursday said protests seeking J&K’s statehood would continue.
Abdullah also said that the decision taken on August 5, 2019, regarding Jammu and Kashmir’s special status was “unconstitutional”.
“Everyone knows what happened on August 5, 2019, was unconstitutional. The whole country stands with us on the issue. Yesterday, you saw the protest at Parliament. This will continue,” Abdullah told reporters here.
Political parties in Jammu and Kashmir have been demanding statehood restoration since the erstwhile state was bifurcated into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh following the abrogation of Article 370.
The Centre, however, has been saying that statehood restoration would be done at the “appropriate” time.
The NC leaders have been saying that the Centre should restore statehood, as the dual governance model is preventing the elected government from taking major policy decisions.
The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC), led by party president Farooq Abdullah, had last month staged a protest in New Delhi demanding the immediate restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. On Thursday, when asked about his policy on restoring statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, Abdullah said, “I don’t have any policy. The National Conference has a policy.”
To a question about Union Minister Giriraj Singh’s remarks about PDP president Mehbooba Mufti “being a terrorist”, Abdullah said she could respond to the question.
In Rajouri as well, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the efforts of the party would continue until statehood is restored.
On Wednesday, protests and celebrations marked the seventh anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. National Conference (NC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) staged protests in Srinagar, saying the fight for the restoration of J&K special status and statehood would continue.
