Srinagar, June 3, KNT: The ruling National Conference has decided to intensify its campaign for restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and will stage a protest in New Delhi during the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament, senior party leader Tanvir Sadiq said on Wednesday.
The announcement came after a day-long meeting of National Conference legislators, ministers, Members of Parliament and senior party leaders held at Dachigam on the outskirts of Srinagar under the leadership of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Sadiq said the National Conference Legislature Party had resolved to raise the issue of statehood more aggressively at the national level.
“The National Conference Legislature Party has decided to stage a protest on the first day of the first session of the Monsoon Session of Parliament,” Sadiq said.
He said the exact venue of the protest was yet to be finalized.
“Either we will stage the protest at Jantar Mantar or at some other place. That will be decided subsequently,” he added.
Sadiq said there was a growing consensus within the party leadership that the time had come for restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
“The time has come for the restoration of statehood. This is what the leadership feels,” he said.
According to Sadiq, the party would continue to press for both restoration of statehood and constitutional guarantees for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
He maintained that the deliberations held during Wednesday’s meeting were focused on issues concerning governance, public welfare and the aspirations of the people.
“Whatever happened and whatever was discussed in today’s meeting was in the interest of the people,” Sadiq said.
The proposed protest is expected to mark the National Conference’s first major political mobilization in the national capital during the upcoming Parliament session, with statehood remaining the party’s principal political demand. [KNT]
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