SRINAGAR — Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday moved a resolution in the Legislative Assembly seeking the immediate and urgent restoration of full statehood to the Union Territory, amid protests by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members.
Moving the resolution after Question Hour, Abdullah said the people of Jammu and Kashmir had been told that delimitation would be followed by Assembly elections and then restoration of statehood. He said the first two steps had been completed while statehood remained pending.
The resolution calls upon the Government of India to restore full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and provides that it be forwarded to the Union Government. Its wording also refers to resolutions passed by the House on June 26, 2000, and November 6, 2024.
The reference to the 2000 resolution relates to the resolution passed by the then Jammu and Kashmir government seeking restoration of autonomy, while the November 6, 2024 resolution concerned restoration of special status and constitutional guarantees. The current resolution separately seeks full statehood.
The move triggered protests from BJP legislators, who objected particularly to the reference to the 2000 autonomy resolution. BJP members entered the well of the House, raised slogans and, according to reports, some tore copies of the resolution.
The proceedings were marked by competing slogans and protests as the statehood issue came to the centre of debate.
Restoration of statehood has remained a stated demand of the Omar Abdullah-led government since it took office in October 2024. The issue was also taken up by the Council of Ministers soon after the formation of the elected government, when it adopted a resolution seeking restoration of statehood.
Abdullah has repeatedly said that Jammu and Kashmir had received assurances that statehood would be restored after the Assembly elections. Speaking in Amritsar on September 17, he again said delimitation and elections had taken place while restoration of statehood remained pending.
The latest resolution places the demand formally before the Union Government through the elected legislature.
The resolution seeks restoration of full statehood, rather than restoration of a limited or partial set of powers. The Assembly Secretariat had included the Chief Minister’s resolution in the supplementary List of Business for September 25.
The sixth session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly is scheduled from September 21 to September 30.