Jammu & Kashmir Statehood Protest: Allies Skip Delhi Rally, Omar Abdullah Says 'Chaotic' Situation

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday led a protest in New Delhi demanding the restoration of statehood for the Union Territory, but several opposition allies failed to attend, citing chaotic conditions in the capital.

Speaking after the protest, which was organised by his party, the National Conference (NC), Abdullah stressed that statehood is fundamental to restoring constitutional guarantees to Jammu and Kashmir. He rejected criticism that the party was not also demanding the restoration of Article 370, which granted special status to the former state.

“What does Article 370 or 371 mean without statehood? A union territory has no powers. There is no state list or a concurrent list, and that is the whole fight. Any special status that is accorded to J&K – whether it is 370 or something else – it will come down to how the Centre and state share power, and the Centre does not share power with a UT,” Abdullah said.

The NC had decided in June to take its demand to New Delhi on the first day of the monsoon session of Parliament. However, the protest was overshadowed by a march by the 'Cockroach Janta Party' from Jantar Mantar to Parliament, and many allies from the INDIA bloc were absent.

Party president Farooq Abdullah led NC members through the streets but they could not reach Central Delhi. “The police had offered us Ramlila Maidan as an alternate venue, but we did not accept that,” Omar Abdullah said.

The NC had invited several national leaders, including Congress Parliamentary Party leader Sonia Gandhi, to join their demand for statehood. However, only Congress leaders who are alliance partners in the J&K government were seen walking alongside NC legislators.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Omar Abdullah said that while many leaders had committed to joining, they were unable to reach the protest venue. “A few of them spoke to me; they just weren’t able to reach there. We had a commitment from TMC, NCP, DMK, SP among others. Within the INDIA bloc, we were sure they would join. But the situation (in Delhi) was just chaotic. I don’t blame them,” he said.

He asserted that the protest in Delhi is just the beginning and a reminder to the central government of its promise, both in Parliament and the Supreme Court, to restore statehood. “They have to tell us what the ‘uchit samay’ (appropriate time) for restoration of statehood is,” he said, adding that party president Farooq Abdullah will decide on further organisational efforts to escalate the demand.

Responding to criticism from the opposition in J&K for not raising the restoration of Article 370, Abdullah said, “We invited all political parties from J&K; this concerns all of us. Not only did they refuse to join, they also ridiculed our efforts. When have we not spoken about J&K’s special status? We can make attempts at unity, but we can’t force it.”

He argued that the issue of Article 370 cannot be clubbed with statehood because “the Centre will use 370 as the excuse to not give us statehood. The BJP government will not restore Article 370.”