BJP stripped J&K of statehood, will face protests: CPI's D Raja

CPI General Secretary D Raja accused the BJP of stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its statehood and announced that protests will be held when Parliament opens for the Monsoon session on July 20 to demand its restoration.

Protests Planned for Monsoon Session

Communist Party of India (CPI) General Secretary D Raja on Tuesday accused BJP of stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its statehood status and said there will be protests when Parliament opens on July 20 for the Monsoon session. "Omar Abdullah is the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, but the BJP government has stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its statehood status... All political parties are supporting us... When Parliament opens on July 20 for the Monsoon session, there will be protests, and I understand that. We will all extend our support to restore the statehood status of Jammu and Kashmir... We will discuss this real issue of why Article 370 was abrogated and why it was ended," D Raja told ANI.

NC Protest Faces Permission Hurdles

On July 10, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that the National Conference has not received permission for its July 20 protest at Jantar Mantar in the national capital, demanding restoration of full statehood for the Union Territory. He alleged that there was an intent to "sabotage" the National Conference's protest.

Full statehood has been a part of NC's long-standing demand after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. National Conference has invited 52 leaders across party lines for the protest at Jantar Mantar. CM Omar Abdullah said, "We are still in the process of trying to secure that permission. It didn't even take 24 hours for the cockroach party to get permission, whereas we have been at it for four or five days now. Some people are intent on sabotaging our program; they changed their dates to coincide with ours."

Following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, the Centre formed two Union Territories: Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. In 2023, the Supreme Court upheld the move to abrogate Article 370, while not taking up the question of the restoration of statehood, as the Centre had submitted that it would be restored in due time.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)