Stepping up the National Conference's campaign for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday defended his party’s decision to protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, asking, “If decisions concerning a part of our own country cannot be taken in our own national capital, then where should they be taken? Should we go to America and protest outside the White House to seek Jammu and Kashmir's statehood?” He said the July 20 demonstration would mark the beginning of a new phase of the party’s agitation after nearly two years of waiting, asserting that the patience of the people had “run out”.
Omar was addressing a well-attended public rally at Maharaja Hari Singh Park— his first major public meeting in Jammu city in many years. The gathering came a day after the National Conference organised a grand workers’ convention at the mausoleum of Omar’s grandparents in the Hazratbal area in Srinagar.
Responding to criticism from BJP leaders over the proposed protest at Jantar Mantar, Omar defended the decision to hold the demonstration in the national capital. “We are only asking for a promise made in our own country to be honoured in our own country’s capital,” he said.
“Our silence is being mistaken for weakness. We have given the Centre enough time. What could not be achieved through dialogue, we will now pursue through a democratic movement,” he added.
The rally, held in the BJP’s political stronghold, was attended by senior National Conference leaders and party workers carrying banners demanding restoration of statehood.
Omar reminded the gathering that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had himself promised the restoration of statehood during his visit to Katra last year for the inauguration of the Vande Bharat train to Kashmir.
“At Katra, barely an hour’s journey from here, the Prime Minister had said that this was not an ordinary promise but Modi’s promise. I fail to understand why the BJP leadership in Jammu and Kashmir is working so hard to prove its own leader wrong,” he remarked.
Referring to the repeated assurances by the Centre that statehood would be restored at an “appropriate time”, Omar questioned what that phrase actually meant.
“Every time we ask about statehood, we are told it will happen at the right time. Either they themselves do not know when that time will come, or they are waiting for a BJP government to be formed in Jammu and Kashmir. If that is the case, they should tell the people openly that statehood will not be restored unless the BJP forms the government here,” he said.
He also pointed out that the BJP had sought votes during the 2024 Assembly elections by promising the restoration of statehood. “The BJP leaders never fail to remind us of our promises, but they seem to have forgotten their own. Show me one BJP candidate who told voters that the party opposed restoring statehood. They all sought votes on that promise,” he said.
Omar asserted that statehood was not a favour but a democratic right of the people of J&K. “They have waited patiently. Enough is enough. We will continue knocking on the doors of our own nation’s capital and reminding the country’s leadership of the promises made to us until those promises are fulfilled,” he said.
He also maintained that his government was working within the limitations of a Union Territory but several crucial departments remained outside the control of the elected government, affecting governance.
The July 20 protest, he said, would mark the beginning of a sustained democratic agitation for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.