Congress has finally raised statehood issue: Sajad Lone

Srinagar, Jul 22: People’s Conference (PC) chief Sajad Lone on Tuesday welcomed the Congress party’s protest in New Delhi demanding the restoration of J&K’s statehood, saying it is encouraging that a national party has finally raised the issue of the people’s sufferings.

Lone said the demand is not just about statehood but about “restoring dignity” to the people of J&K by ensuring the elected Assembly is not “crowded out or relegated to a constricted democratic space,” reports KNS.

“Let us hope we get statehood back in the first instalment, and all parties, including the ruling NC, remember how undignified it is to trespass upon the space of an elected Assembly,” Lone said in a post on X.

He added that while people aspire for statehood, they also expect the ruling party to stop allowing “unelected or defeated NC members to encroach upon the space of elected MLAs,” calling elected legislators as “politically sacred” as concepts like Article 370 and Article 35A.