Leaderof Oppoaition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and asked to bring legislation in the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament for the same.
In their joint letter to the Prime Minister, both Kharge and Rahul Gandhi said that 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.
They urged the Prime Minister that 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 precedent in independent India.
“This is the first time a full-fledged state has been downgraded to a Union Territory following its bifurcation,” they said.
“We urge upon the government to bring forward a legislation in the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament to grant full statehood to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir,” the Congress leaders said.
They also appealed that the government bring forward legislation to include the Union Territory of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution.
“This would be a significant step towards addressing the cultural, developmental, and political aspirations of the people of Ladakh, while safeguarding their rights, land, and identity,” the Congress leaders said.
Both the leaders also reminded the Prime Minister of restoring the statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and his government’s commitment for the same during his interview on May 19 last year in Odisha’s Bhubaneshwar and at a public meeting in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar on Sptember 19 last year.
They said, “Furthermore, the union government has made similar assurances before the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the In Re: Article 370 matter, submitting that statehood would be restored ‘at the earliest and as soon as possible’.”
The Congress has been vocal over the restoration of statehood of J&K. Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcation in August 2019 into UT of J&K and UT of Ladakh following the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A.
The central government had on many occasions talked about restoring atatehood of J&K in the past.
