J&K Congress demands restoration of statehood before Assembly polls

The Jammu and Kashmir Congress on Tuesday demanded the reinstatement of statehood before assembly elections and claimed the people of the Union Territory were not happy with Home Minister Amit Shah's "roadmap" of holding the polls followed by statehood restoration.

During his first visit to Jammu and Kashmir after the repeal of Article 370 provisions, Shah said on Saturday the youth of Kashmir will get opportunities, so a right delimitation will be done, which will be followed by elections and then the status of the statehood will be restored.

"I have said this in the country's Parliament, and this is the roadmap," he had said.

In a meeting on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Congress' Jammu and Kashmir affairs in-charge Rajni Patil, the party leaders discussed the Union home minister's statement and reiterated the demand for early restoration of statehood.

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"The party leaders apprised the leadership about the resentment amongst the people over the statement of the Shah.

"These vague statements of the Union government are not acceptable to the people of Jammu and Kashmir who feel they have been deprived of their status and identity and the same should be restored in the shape of full statehood," the Congress said in a statement.

It said Patil discussed various issues, including the huge damage to crops and orchards and loss of lives due to heavy rains and unseasonal snowfall, and impressed upon the government to announce adequate ex gratia to the affected people.

Patil and the Congress' Jammu and Kashmir unit chief G A Mir briefed the meeting about the nationwide programmes scheduled by the AICC in the coming days and asked them to reach out to the people through 'Jan Jagran Abhiyan'.

They also briefed them about the pan-India membership drive to be launched next month as decided in the recent Congress Working Committee meeting chaired by Sonia Gandhi.