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Congress intensified demand for J&K statehood restoration
This move comes after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging immediate restoration of statehood to J&K
The Jammu Kashmir Congress has announced a major escalation in its campaign demanding the restoration of statehood to J&K, with protests planned in Srinagar, Jammu, and a sit-in at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on July 22, a day after the monsoon session of Parliament begins.
This move comes after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging immediate restoration of statehood to J&K.
The Congress is now mobilising workers and leaders from across the Union Territory to participate in the protest in the national capital, alongside some members of parliament and INDIA alliance leaders.
J&K Congress president Tariq Hameed Karra said the campaign for statehood has been ongoing for months and recent developments have given it fresh momentum.
“We are thankful to the party president and Rahul Gandhi for writing to the prime minister. They have represented the aspirations of 1.40 crore people of J&K,” Karra said.
He added that state-level protests will also be held in Srinagar and Jammu, and a large number of workers from district and block levels would be participating at the protest in New Delhi.
Congress general secretary and CWC member Ghulam Ahmad Mir said the Jantar Mantar protest will feature senior party leaders and allies.
“It’s a J&K Congress event for statehood restoration. We will sit on protest at Jantar Mantar and Congress MPs and INDIA alliance leaders will raise the issue in parliament,” he said. “From day one, our party has been demanding statehood restoration as promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and even acknowledged by the Supreme Court.”
A senior Congress leader involved in mobilisation efforts described the upcoming protest as a symbolic event, with national leaders joining hands with grassroots workers from J&K.
Meanwhile, security agencies have begun collecting details of leaders and workers planning to travel to Delhi for the protest.
Though BJP leaders, including Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, have maintained that statehood will be restored “at an appropriate time,” no definitive timeline has been offered since the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019.
