Omar Abdullah Plans New Delhi Protests for J&K Statehood

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced a new phase of aggressive political protests to demand the restoration of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir. Speaking at events in Srinagar and Jammu, including a 'Delhi Chalo' rally at Maharaja Hari Singh Park, Abdullah declared that the National Conference will lead a major demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on July 20. The protest is timed to coincide with the opening of Parliament's monsoon session.

Abdullah accused the BJP-led central government of using the phrase "appropriate time" to indefinitely delay the process, claiming the region is being punished because the National Conference won the recent assembly elections. He alleged that the center is governing through the Lieutenant Governor to bypass the elected mandate and has attempted to destabilize his government by offering a National Conference MLA a ministerial position and 20-30 crore rupees to defect.

Referencing a directive from the Supreme Court of India to restore statehood as soon as possible, Abdullah argued that two years of diplomatic talks have failed. He stated that the current lack of authority over key departments hinders his administration's efforts. The movement received support from senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid, who criticized the use of money to split political parties. Farooq Abdullah, chief of the National Conference, has invited other political parties to join the demonstration to demand constitutional guarantees.