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NC asks Centre to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir
Long ago, a place in India called Jammu and Kashmir had a special status that the government later removed.
In 2019, the central government changed the rules for Jammu and Kashmir.
Now, some leaders want those rules and rights back.
Leaders from the National Conference and the Congress party held a march to ask for them.
They asked the government what 'the right time' to give the rights back would be.
The government had promised to make Jammu and Kashmir a full state again after elections.
But seven years have passed, and that promise has not been kept.
The leaders say the government keeps saying it will happen at the right time, but nobody knows when that will be.
So they keep asking: 'What is the right time?'
On the seventh anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370, the National Conference (NC) asked the Centre what the 'right time' to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir is, saying the promise made after delimitation and Assembly elections remains unfulfilled.
NC Rajya Sabha MP Shammi Oberoi made the remarks after a protest march in the Parliament House complex in which Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also participated.
NC MP Chaudhary Ramzan said Jammu and Kashmir's constitutional rights and statehood have been taken away for seven years, with no indication of restoration nearly two years after Assembly elections.
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Pawan Khera backed the demand, insisting constitutional rights over land, jobs and access to opportunities and resources must also be restored.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the Centre's promise to restore statehood remains unfulfilled, as the NC and Congress also held separate protest rallies in Jammu.
- Who
- National Conference MPs Shammi Oberoi and Chaudhary Ramzan, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Pawan Khera, and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
- What
- Demanded that the Centre restore statehood and constitutional rights to Jammu and Kashmir, asking what 'the right time' for restoration is.
- Where
- New Delhi's Parliament House complex and Jammu.
- When
- August 5, 2026, the seventh anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370.
- Why
- Because the Centre's promise to restore statehood after delimitation and Assembly elections remains unfulfilled.
Opposition parties (NC and Congress)
BJP-led central government
Timing of statehood restoration
Opposition parties (NC and Congress)
The Centre promised to restore statehood after delimitation and Assembly elections; that promise is unfulfilled after seven years, so statehood and constitutional rights should be restored now.
BJP-led central government
Statehood will be restored at the 'appropriate time,' an assurance the Centre gives whenever the issue is raised.
Scope of restoration demanded
Opposition parties (NC and Congress)
Besides statehood, constitutional safeguards over land, jobs, and access to opportunities and resources must also be restored to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
BJP-led central government
The Centre's reported response only addresses statehood at the appropriate time; the article does not state its position on special constitutional rights.
Key facts
- Event
- Seventh anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370
- Date
- August 5, 2026
- Demand
- Restoration of statehood and constitutional rights to Jammu and Kashmir
- Demanding parties
- National Conference and Congress
- Article 370 abrogated
- August 5, 2019, by the BJP-led central government
- Result of abrogation
- Jammu and Kashmir split into Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh
- Time since Assembly elections
- Nearly two years
- Protest locations
- Parliament House complex, New Delhi, and Jammu
Quotes
Chaudhary Ramzan
National Conference Rajya Sabha Member
“"We have come here to demand the restoration of our special status and statehood. You had said delimitation would take place, followed by elections, and then statehood would be granted. What happened to your promise? Please fulfil your promise."”
theprint.in
“"Whenever we raise this issue, the response is that statehood will be restored at the appropriate time. What is the right time? We do not know when the right time is."”
theprint.in
Sources
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