Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said there would be no change in the National Conference's plan to hold a protest in Delhi on July 20 to press for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood, even as the party is yet to receive permission to stage the demonstration at Jantar Mantar.
Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, Omar said NC leaders would travel to Delhi on July 19 as scheduled.
“There will be no change in the plan. Mustafa Kamal himself would not have wanted any change. When his health deteriorated on the July 11, doctors told us it was unlikely he would survive the day. Even then, I had instructions from party president Farooq Abdullah that we had to proceed with our scheduled programme in Jammu on the 12th,” Omar said.
Former Jammu and Kashmir minister and Omar Abdullah's uncle, Dr Sheikh Mustafa Kamal, passed away in Srinagar on Tuesday.
Asked whether permission had been granted for the protest, Omar replied: “Not yet. It is being delayed. As I said on the 11th, we know how to be patient. We will wait and keep our alternative plan ready.”
Omar said he had already discussed the matter with party colleagues who had expressed concerns over whether permission would be granted.
“I have told my colleagues, who expressed the same apprehensions about whether we will get permission or not, that if we do not get permission for Jantar Mantar, we will sit together and discuss what to do next. But we will go to Delhi on the 19th,” he said.
The National Conference has intensified its campaign ahead of the proposed protest, launching outreach programmes across Jammu and Kashmir to mobilise support for the restoration of statehood. The party has invited 52 political and religious leaders from across the country to participate in what it has described as a “peaceful, democratic protest” on the opening day of Parliament's Monsoon Session.
Among the prominent invitees are Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi; Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav; BSP president Mayawati; RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav; NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar; Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray; AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal; SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal; CPI leader D Raja; and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal.