Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], July 21 (ANI): Congress on Monday said that BJP had committed to granting statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and that ten months have passed, but the Narendra Modi government has not taken any steps in that direction.
Jammu-Kashmir Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra told ANI, “For the past six months, we have been demanding ‘Our State, Our Right.’ We have spoken about this in all districts of Jammu and Kashmir. After that, we called for ‘Srinagar Chalo,’ and today we have called for ‘Delhi Chalo,’ under which we are marching towards Delhi. 233 MPs of the INDIA (alliance) are with us, and our alliance partners will also support us.”
Congress leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir told ANI that they will go to Delhi to remind the Centre government about its promise of granting statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
“Today, we are going to Delhi regarding a special issue. The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee has organised the ‘Our State, Our Right’ programme in every corner of Jammu and Kashmir. The BJP had committed to the reorganisation, followed by delimitation, elections, and subsequently granting statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. Ten months have passed, but the Modi government has not taken any steps in that direction. In such a situation, Congress is fulfilling its duty, and we are going on behalf of the people to remind the Prime Minister and the government to fulfil their promise,” he told ANI.
In August 2019, the Central government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, repealed Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, effectively ending the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating the state into two Union Territories —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.
The restoration of statehood has been a key demand from the regional political parties in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 and the reorganisation of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories in August 2019. (ANI)
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