Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday announced that the National Conference (NC) would launch a fresh phase of its campaign for the restoration of statehood, with a protest in New Delhi on July 20 after what he described as nearly two years of waiting for the Centre to fulfil its promise.
Addressing a large public rally at Maharaja Hari Singh Park in Jammu city, Abdullah said the party had exhausted its patience and would now intensify its movement by taking the demand directly to the national capital, news agency PTI reported.
‘No more waiting’
The meeting, his first major public rally in Jammu in several years, assumed significance as it was held in what is considered a BJP stronghold.
“Enough is enough! There will be no more waiting!” Abdullah declared before a large gathering of party workers.
The rally came a day after the National Conference held a workers’ convention at the mausoleum of Abdullah’s grandparents in the Hazratbal area to mark the 26th death anniversary of his grandmother, Akbar Jehan. Abdullah paid floral tributes to her amid loud slogans and a sea of party flags demanding the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.
A large banner at the venue read, “Delhi Chalo! We Want Our Statehood,” while supporters carried placards bearing slogans such as “Hamari Riyasat, Hamari Shaan” and “Hamari Riyasat, Hamara Haq.”
Abdullah said the party’s restraint had been misinterpreted as weakness.
“Our decency is being taken for granted. Our silence is being mistaken for weakness, and our patience is being tested beyond its limits,” he said.
He said the National Conference had tolerated criticism, accusations and what he described as repeated conspiracies against the party before deciding to take its campaign to the streets.
According to Abdullah, the Centre had been given sufficient time to restore statehood after the Assembly elections.
“We have given the Central government enough time. For almost two years, we pursued one approach. Now we will adopt a new strategy. That new phase will begin on July 20, when we will gather in Delhi and raise our voice for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood,” he said.
Calling statehood a constitutional right rather than a concession, Abdullah said the issue extended beyond his party.
“This is not just the National Conference’s issue; it concerns every party that contested the 2024 Assembly election. Show me a single BJP MLA who told voters that the party would oppose statehood. They sought votes promising restoration,” he said.
The chief minister questioned the Centre’s repeated assurance that statehood would be restored at an “appropriate time”, asking what that timeline actually meant.
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“Every time we ask when Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood will be restored, we get the same vague reply: ‘It will happen at an appropriate time’. But no one explains what that means or when that time will come. Are they waiting until the BJP forms the government here? If that is their position, they should say so openly,” he said.
He said the National Conference had accepted the delimitation exercise despite believing it favoured the BJP and contested the elections regardless of what he described as attempts to divide political parties and influence the outcome.
“The government must now honour its commitment,” he said.
Defending the decision to stage the protest in Delhi, Abdullah said the demand was being raised in India’s own capital because that was where decisions concerning Jammu and Kashmir were taken.
‘Should we go to Trump?’
Responding to criticism from the BJP, Abdullah said his party had consistently raised the issue of statehood in Jammu and Kashmir, in the Assembly and would now continue the campaign in Delhi.
“So what do they expect us to do? Should we go to America and protest before (US President Donald) Trump or outside the White House to seek Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood? We are only asking for a promise made in our own country to be honoured in our own country’s capital,” he said.
The NC leader accused the BJP of using the statehood issue as a political tool instead of fulfilling what he described as a constitutional commitment.
Reiterating that the campaign would continue, Abdullah said the party would keep pressing the Centre to honour its commitment.
“We will continue knocking on the doors of our own nation’s capital. We will continue reminding the country’s leadership of the promises made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. We only ask that those promises be honoured,” he said.
He said the July 20 demonstration would mark the formal beginning of the agitation after dialogue had failed to produce results.
(With inputs from PTI)
