.jpg?w=700&c=0 "Tesla DC Supercharger network to come to in India")
The National Conference (NC) is optimistic that a bill to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood may be tabled during the upcoming Parliament Monsoon Session scheduled from July 21 to August 12. A senior NC leader said on Wednesday, “We’ve been made to understand that a bill to restore statehood might be introduced in the session.”
The call to reinstate statehood comes nearly five years after Article 370 was revoked in August 2019, which led to the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two Union territories. While the NC has consistently pushed for statehood restoration, the Centre has yet to confirm a timeline. Past statements by Union Home Minister Amit Shah indicated a “chronology”—first elections, then delimitation, and finally statehood. However, more recently, BJP leaders have hinted at a post-census timeline.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday endorsed a letter sent by Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding the restoration of full statehood. “J&K has waited long enough. Now is the time to deliver on the assurances made in Parliament, at public forums, and in the Supreme Court,” Abdullah said in Jammu.
Welcoming the Congress initiative, he said, “We are not asking for something new—this was promised to us repeatedly. I thank Khargeji and Rahulji for raising our voice in Parliament and Delhi.” Referring to the Supreme Court’s 2023 verdict on Article 370, Abdullah said, “Even the apex court had directed that statehood must be restored at the earliest. ‘As soon as possible’ has already taken too long.”
Asked about Congress’s reported plan to gherao Parliament on the Monsoon Session’s opening day, Abdullah said, “We’ve had no talks yet. We’ll discuss and decide our course of action.”
J&K Congress president Tariq Hameed Karra earlier said the party will escalate its campaign by holding protests in Srinagar, Jammu, and Delhi. “We have consistently opposed the arbitrary and undemocratic downgrading of J&K. We began our statehood campaign last year after the Supreme Court directed the holding of Assembly elections,” he added.
Other regional parties including the PDP, J&K Apni Party, People’s Conference, CPI(M), and various national parties have also renewed calls for statehood. Their demands stem from what they describe as five years of democratic deficit and constitutional injustice. With rising political momentum and public pressure, expectations are high—but uncertainty still looms over whether the Centre will act in the coming session.
