Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah addresses a press conference, in Srinagar on July 21, 2026.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Pledging to widen the ambit of protests over Statehood and constitutional guarantees, Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday (July 21, 2026) said the National Conference (NC) will keep reminding the Centre of its promise and the Supreme Court’s direction to restore statehood “at the earliest”.
Also read | Fulfil the promise: On restoring Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir
Speaking in Srinagar a day after holding the party’s first-ever protest march in New Delhi along with legislators, Mr. Abdullah, the NC’s vice-president, said, “This is the beginning. We will continue it. The new form and ways of (protests) will be decided by party president Dr. Farooq Abdullah. Not only in J&K, but it will be taken outside too. We will keep reminding the Centre of its promises and hope it will fulfil it by restoring statehood.”
Describing senior Abdullah, now 90, leading the protest as “a defining image” of the agitation, Mr. Abdullah said, “Dr. Abdullah with a walking stick took the lead of the protest. Unlike those who from the comfort of their rooms only tweet.”
Underlining the importance of statehood, Mr. Abdullah said it is only between a State and the Centre that “delineation and demarcation of powers could be discussed”.
“A Union Territory (UT) has no powers, with most of the rights vested with the Centre and the Lok Bhavan. Without statehood, what does demand of Article 370 mean? To reach there (Article 370), we have to lay a foundation and build on it. We did not forget about it (Article 370). J&K’s first Assembly session passed a resolution on return of special status with constitutional guarantees. Unlike the autonomy resolution (of 1999) that was thrown into dustbin, this resolution is still alive and will be discussed,” he said.
Mr. Abdullah said the INDIA bloc stood with the NC in its protest in New Delhi. “The Congress, CPI, CPI(M) stood with us. Many could not reach because of the volatile situation in Delhi,” he said. However, Mr. Abdullah did not elaborate on Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge not joining the protest despite Dr. Abdullah’s formal letters to them.
On leaving the protest venue amid teargas shelling, Mr. Abdullah said many supporters from the Cockroach Janta Party were mixing up with the NC’s protest march near Jantar Mantar. On the Delhi police firing teargas shells at a sitting Chief Minister-led protest march, Mr. Abdullah said, “It’s for the Delhi police to respond.”
He criticised the BJP leadership in J&K for linking statehood with the final report of security agencies. “One could understand if the BJP will say the final decision on statehood will be taken by the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister. However, it’s putting the onus on security agencies. Let the BJP file a fresh petition before the SC and inform it that statehood is subservient to the reports of the (security) agencies. We will also wait for the report of the agencies,” he said.
The Chief Minister criticised the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for its stand on the NC’s protest. “A new party was floated in 2000 in response to the autonomy resolution passed by the Assembly. It leaves no attempt at weakening the voice of people of J&K. It’s those who demand freedom and Pakistan who were the first to criticise the resolution passed by the Assembly (in 2024),” said Mr. Abdullah.
He said his party reached out to all the regional parties in J&K but many chose to “downplay and ridicule our efforts”. “Same parties call themselves as sympathisers of people,” he added.
Published – July 21, 2026 06:03 pm IST
