After Dachigam huddle, NC to take statehood fight to Delhi

Srinagar, Jun 3: After a marathon seven-hour meeting at Dachigam, the ruling National Conference (NC) on Wednesday announced that its legislature party, along with alliance partners, will stage a protest in New Delhi on the opening day of the forthcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament to press for restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood and constitutional guarantees, while also deciding to reach out to political parties across the Union Territory for broader participation in the campaign.

The announcement followed an extensive meeting of NC legislators, ministers, Members of Parliament from Rajya Sabha, independent legislators supporting the government and CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami, chaired by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, where discussions revolved around governance, political priorities, statehood, development and organisational matters.

Addressing reporters after the meeting, NC chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq said the legislature party had unanimously resolved to intensify the demand for restoration of statehood and constitutional guarantees.

“The National Conference has decided that on the first day of the Monsoon Session, our Legislative Party, including MPs, MLAs and allies, will go to Delhi to protest. Our primary demand will be the return of our statehood and constitutional guarantees,” Sadiq said.
“It is time for our leadership to go to Delhi, talk to the people there and take back what has been taken away from us,” he added.
Senior NC leader and ministerJaved Rana echoed the party’s stand and said restoration of statehood remained the foremost political demand of the National Conference and that the leadership had decided to widen the campaign beyond Jammu and Kashmir.
“The National Conference will hold a protest in New Delhi on the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament. Restoration of statehood remains our foremost political demand and we will continue to pursue it democratically,” Rana said.

He said the protest would seek to press the Centre to fulfil its commitment on restoration of statehood and stressed that the issue transcended party lines.
“We will invite all political parties from Jammu and Kashmir to join the protest. The issue of statehood concerns every citizen of the Union Territory and goes beyond party lines,” Rana said, adding that the leadership believes the time has come for a renewed political push on the issue.
According to Sadiq, restoration of statehood and constitutional safeguards dominated discussions during the meeting, although legislators also reviewed governance, developmental issues and public welfare concerns.
Sadiq described the atmosphere of the meeting as positive and said Chief Minister Omar Abdullah patiently heard threadbare discussions on governance, development, drug abuse, alcohol-related concerns, the economy and public welfare. A review of the government’s functioning and progress achieved over the past months also formed part of the deliberations, though he maintained that restoration of constitutional safeguards remained the most important issue discussed.

The meeting also deliberated on the growing demand for a ban on liquor in Jammu and Kashmir. Rana said the government has constituted a committee to examine the proposal seeking prohibition on sale and consumption of liquor in the Union Territory after the issue figured during discussions at Dachigam.

“The committee has been tasked with studying various aspects of the proposal and will submit its recommendations to the Chief Minister. After the committee submits its report, the matter will be placed before the Chief Minister and a final decision will be taken,” Rana said.
The demand for a liquor ban has been raised by several legislators and social organisations in recent months, though the government has not indicated a timeline for submission of the report.

The meeting attracted political attention after legislators, who had initially been invited to the Chief Minister’s official residence, were shifted to an off-site venue at Dachigam National Park, away from media glare. MLAs were boarded on mini-buses and taken to the venue, triggering speculation amid Opposition claims of instability within the ruling camp.

The deliberations came in the backdrop of claims by Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma that the NC-led government was facing internal discontent and that some legislators were unhappy with the functioning of ministers. Omar Abdullah, however, dismissed speculation around secrecy or panic and said the off-site format had been planned in advance as part of a stocktaking exercise to assess achievements, shortcomings and future priorities of the government. Sharing photographs of legislators during the bus ride, he described the meeting as an opportunity to review “the good, the not so good and everything in between.”

The meeting was also projected as a display of unity within the ruling camp, with MLAs, MPs from both Houses of Parliament, CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami and independent legislators backing the government participating in the discussions. However, NC Lok Sabha MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, who has publicly criticised the party on issues relating to restoration of constitutional status and political positioning, was not invited to the meeting, a development that generated discussion in political circles.

Despite the emphasis on statehood, governance concerns reportedly occupied much of the seven-hour meeting.
 Sources said legislators raised concerns over developmental works, constituency-level grievances, pace of implementation and functioning of departments. Members from multiple regions reportedly expressed dissatisfaction over developmental allocations and execution of infrastructure projects and sought greater coordination between ministers and elected representatives.

According to sources, several legislators complained about the functioning of some ministers and raised concerns relating to responsiveness, accessibility and developmental priorities. Sources said ministers facing complaints were asked to address grievances raised by legislators within one month and improve coordination with MLAs.

About speculation regarding cabinet expansion, Sadiq said the matter remained the prerogative of the Chief Minister and would be decided whenever considered appropriate.

After the meeting, the NC on its official X handle posted, “A day-long meeting of JKNC legislators, MPs, and alliance partners was held today at Dachigam under the chairmanship of Hon’ble Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Detailed deliberations were held on restoration of Statehood and Special Status, unemployment, drug abuse, alcohol issue, reservation policy, regularisation of daily wagers and casual employees, governance, development and other issues concerning the people of Jammu & Kashmir. The meeting unanimously resolved that JKNC will hold a protest in New Delhi on the opening day of Parliament’s Monsoon Session to demand the immediate restoration of Jammu & Kashmir’s Statehood and constitutional guarantees.”