SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) President Dr. Farooq Abdullah has written to 52 national and regional political leaders, inviting them to join the party’s proposed protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on the opening day of Parliament’s Monsoon Session, seeking restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.
In his three-page letter, Abdullah described the continued delay in restoring statehood as an “affront to the democratic will” of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and urged leaders across party lines to stand in defence of federalism, constitutional values and the commitments made by the Union Government in Parliament.
Here are a few key paragraphs from Dr. Farooq Abdullah’s letter that can be incorporated into your news story:
In the letter, Abdullah said the National Conference would gather at Jantar Mantar on the opening day of Parliament’s Monsoon Session “to register our solemn and democratic protest against the unconscionable delay in the restoration of Statehood to the people of Jammu & Kashmir — a promise made unambiguously and repeatedly by the Union Government of India.”
He recalled the developments following August 5, 2019, stating that while Parliament had assured the people that statehood would be restored “at an appropriate time,” the promise remained unfulfilled despite the successful conduct of Assembly elections in 2024. “An elected government now functions in Jammu & Kashmir under Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. And yet, Statehood… remains withheld and elusive to us. There is no explanation forthcoming. There is no timeline offered. There is only silence. This is not merely a delay. It is an affront to the democratic will of an entire people,” the letter reads.
Emphasising that the issue extends beyond Jammu and Kashmir, Abdullah wrote that the continued delay strikes at the heart of India’s federal structure. “The Constitution of India is a federal document. The structure it envisions is one where States are not merely administrative conveniences of the Union, but living, breathing expressions of the democratic will of the people who inhabit them,” he said.
Appealing for cross-party support, Abdullah urged leaders to stand with the people of Jammu and Kashmir and join the protest. “Our protest shall be peaceful, democratic, and constitutional — as it must be, and as it shall be. We are not asking for anything beyond what was promised. Our demands shall not transgress from those which have already been promised to us,” he wrote.
Concluding the letter, Abdullah said the restoration of statehood was essential to preserving India’s constitutional balance. “To stand for the restoration of Statehood to Jammu & Kashmir is to stand for the integrity of that balance… I count upon your solidarity. Together, let us send an unambiguous message that the people of Jammu and Kashmir remain the guardians of the voice of those who have been made to wait too long,” he said.
The invitee list for the proposed Jantar Mantar protest includes Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP); Mallikarjun Kharge, President of the Indian National Congress (INC); Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha; M.K. Stalin, President of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK); Mamata Banerjee, Chairperson of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC); Akhilesh Yadav, National President of the Samajwadi Party (SP); Lalu Prasad Yadav, National President of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD); Sharad Pawar, National President of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP); Uddhav Thackeray, Party Chief of Shiv Sena (UBT); Arvind Kejriwal, National Convener of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP); Ghulam Nabi Azad, Chairman of the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP); C. Joseph Vijay, President of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK); M.A. Baby, General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist); D. Raja, General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI); Dipankar Bhattacharya, General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation; Thol. Thirumavalavan, President of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK).
The invitation has also been sent to Panakkad Syed Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal, National President of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML); Vaiko, General Secretary of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK); Manoj Bhattacharya, General Secretary of the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP); G. Devarajan, General Secretary of the All India Forward Bloc (AIFB).
Jose K. Mani, Chairman of Kerala Congress (M); P.J. Joseph, Chairman of Kerala Congress; Hanuman Beniwal, National President of the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP); Rajkumar Roat, National President of the Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP); Kapil Sibal, Member of the Rajya Sabha; Pu Lalliansawta, President of the Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM); Kumari Mayawati, National President of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP); Edappadi K. Palaniswami, General Secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK); Naveen Patnaik, President of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD).
Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, President of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP); K. Chandrashekhar Rao, President of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS); Asaduddin Owaisi, President of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM); Sukhbir Singh Badal, President of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD); Lalduhoma, President of the Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM); Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit, President of the Voice of the People Party (VPP); and Ajay Singh Chautala, National President of the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP).
The Jammu and Kashmir invitees include Mehbooba Mufti (PDP); Sat Paul Sharma (BJP), Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari (Apni Party); Sajjad Gani Lone (JKPC); Tariq Hameed Karra (JKPCC); Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, (CPI M); Abdul Rashid Sheikh (AIP); Hakeem Yasin (PDF); Harsh Dev Singh (JKNPP); Dr. Moulvi Muhammad Umar Farooq (Mirwaiz Umar Farooq), Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir and head of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU); Shabir Ahmad Kullay, MLA; Muzaffar Iqbal Khan, MLA; Choudhary Mohammad Akram, MLA; Dr. Rameshwar Singh, MLA; Pyare Lal Sharma, MLA; and Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam, Grand Mufti of Jammu and Kashmir.
