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New Delhi : Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging the government to bring forward legislation to grant full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir in the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament.
“We urge upon the Government to bring forward legislation in the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament to grant full statehood to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir,” Rahul Gandhi wrote to the Prime Minister.
Rahul Gandhi also noted that PM Modi had already reiterated the government’s commitment to restoring statehood on multiple occasions.
“Your good self has, on multiple occasions, personally reiterated the government’s commitment to restoring statehood. In your interview in Bhubaneswar on 19 May 2024, you stated: ‘The restoration of statehood is a solemn promise we have made and we stand by it.’ Again, while addressing a rally in Srinagar on 19 September 2024, you reaffirmed: ‘We have said in Parliament that we will restore the region’s statehood,’” the Congress MP said.
Emphasising the demand for statehood by the people of Jammu and Kashmir, the LoP said that this is the first time a state has been downgraded to a Union Territory.
“For the past five years, the people of Jammu and Kashmir have consistently called for the restoration of full statehood. This demand is both legitimate and firmly grounded in their constitutional and democratic rights,” he said.
“This is the first time a full-fledged state has been downgraded to a Union Territory following its bifurcation,” he added.
In August 2019, the Central Government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, repealed Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, effectively ending the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating the state into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Additionally, Rahul Gandhi also requested the government to bring forward legislation to include Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. He added that this step will address the cultural, developmental, and political aspirations of the people of Ladakh.
“We request that the Government bring forward legislation to include the Union Territory of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution. This would be a significant step towards addressing the cultural, developmental, and political aspirations of the people of Ladakh, while safeguarding their rights, land, and identity,” he wrote to PM Modi.
The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution contains provisions related to the administration of tribal areas in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram. It provides for the administration of certain tribal areas as autonomous entities.
