Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi write to PM demanding bill to restore statehood of Jammu and Kashmir

New Delhi: Leaders of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring a Bill to restore statehood of Jammu and Kashmir in the Monsoon Session of Parliament, saying the “consistent demand” of people is “both legitimate and firmly grounded” in their constitutional and democratic rights.

In a letter, they also demanded that the government bring a legislation to include Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution, which would be a “significant step” towards addressing the cultural, developmental, and political aspirations of the people of the union territory, while safeguarding their rights, land, and identity.

The letter came a day after a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Strategy Group, which decided to raise the issues related to Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in a forceful way along with other issues like intelligence failure in Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor and Manipur situation, among others.

It also comes as the rift is widening between the elected government led by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and the administration headed by Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha. Being a union territory, the elected government has curtailed powers.

In their letter, Kharge and Rahul said it is important to recognise that while there have been instances of union territories being granted statehood in the past, the case of Jammu and Kashmir is without precedence in independent India.

This is the “first time” a full-fledged state has been “downgraded” to a union territory following its bifurcation, the Leaders of Opposition of Rajya Sabha (Kharge) and Lok Sabha (Rahul) said.

“For the past five years, the people of Jammu and Kashmir have consistently called for the restoration of full statehood. This demand is both legitimate and firmly grounded in their constitutional and democratic rights,”they said.

Kharge and Rahul also recalled Modi personally reiterating the “government’s commitment to restoring statehood” on multiple occasions.

In an interview in Bhubaneswar on 19 May 2024, they quoted Modi as saying, “the restoration of statehood is a solemn promise we have made and we stand by it.” While addressing a rally in Srinagar on September 19 last year, they said Modi “reaffirmed” that “we have said in Parliament that we will restore the region’s statehood”.

They said the union government has made similar assurances before the Supreme Court of India in connection with petitions related to validity of abrogation of Article 370.

“We urge upon the government to bring forward legislation in the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament to grant full statehood to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Additionally, we request that the Government bring forward legislation to include the Union Territory of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution,” they added.