‘Fundamental Right…’: Farooq Abdullah On Restoration Of Jammu And Kashmir’s Statehood | India News
National Conference President, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, on Friday, strongly reiterated his demand for the immediate restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood. He indicated a firm stance and potential future action if the demand is not met. He also said that the issue of statehood would be raised in the coming meeting of the INDIA bloc, also for a collective political push for this demand.
Speaking to reporters, he emphasised that it is a fundamental right of the people, not a favor from the central government. “Statehood is a fundamental right of the people. Why won’t they restore? It is our right. If they don’t, we will see then,” he said.
Congratulating Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi for writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for restoration of statehood, Abdullah said, “I thank Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge for writing to the PM for restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.”
Abdullah’s statements advocating for restoring statehood are because it was one of the key promises of the National Conference in their election manifesto. He has been continuously batting for the restoration of statehood, even in the past, he also said that if the statehood is not restored national conference will approach the Supreme Court.
TRF’s Designation As Terror Outfit
Farooq, when asked about the United States designating The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of Lashkar-e-Taiba, as a foreign terrorist organization due to its involvement in the Pahalgam attack, Abdullah said, “It’s under investigation. Till the investigation is complete, commenting on it will be wrong,”
BJP On J-K’s Statehood
Earlier, BJP spokesperson and MLA from Udhampur East, Ranbir Singh Pathania, said that J-K is currently a Union Territory (UT) and will continue to operate under the rule of law. Furthermore, according to ANI, he added that Jammu and Kashmir was a state and assured that it would regain its statehood at the “appropriate time.”
The restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood has been a key demand from the regional political parties in the state since Article 370 was abrogated and the reorganisation of the state into two Union Territories (UTs) in August 2019.
