Farooq Abdullah writes to INDIA bloc, J&K leaders on upcoming protest over Statehood

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah on Thursday (July 9, 2026) wrote a letter to the members of INDIA bloc, non-BJP national parties and local leaders, including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, to support the party’s upcoming protest over Statehood and constitutional rights. 

“Dr. Abdullah has reached out to political parties across Jammu and Kashmir and leaders from across the country, inviting them to join our peaceful, democratic protest at Jantar Mantar on the opening day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament,” said a NC spokesman.

He said the protest was not about one party, one region, or one people. “It is about defending India’s federal spirit, upholding the Constitution, and demanding the long-overdue restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s Statehood, as repeatedly promised. We hope every democratic voice across the country will stand united in this collective cause,” he added.

Dignity and respect

The NC is planning a protest on July 20 in New Delhi over the delay in Statehood. Dr. Abdullah, in the letter addressed to political leaders, referred to Jammu and Kashmir as the most “turbulent place” in the past. “The people have chosen hope. We have chosen the ballot, the Constitution, and the democratic process that all of us in some way or another have been a part of. We deserve to be treated with the same dignity and respect,” said the NC president.

Stating that his party was “counting upon your solidarity”, Dr. Abdullah said, “I count upon the democratic conscience that brought each one of us into the sphere of public life and to the service of our people and this great nation. 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”.

On the commencement of the forthcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament, the NC plans to gather at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, “to register solemn and democratic protest against the unconscionable delay in the restoration or Statehood to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, a promise made unambiguously and repeatedly by the Government of India”.

“It is in the spirit of the shared sense of responsibility and duty towards upliftment and advancement of the people of Jammu and Kashmir that I reach out to each one of you,” said Dr. Abdullah.

Referring to August 5, 2019, when the Centre ended the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and split it into two Union Territories, Dr. Abdullah said, “It was historic and deeply flawed decision to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution, bifurcate and reduce it to the status of two Union Territories, a decision that remains unprecedented till today”.

Referring to the statements made by the ruling BJP leaders in the Parliament about Statehood, Dr. Abdullah said,” We, the people of Jammu and Kashmir, have remained dignified and patient as we accepted these assurances in good faith. We did not take to the streets. We went, instead, to the ballot box. Elections were conducted smoothly and peacefully in 2024.

“The people returned their mandate with confidence and with hope. An elected government now functions and yet, Statehood — that most basic constitutional right, that most elementary unit of self-governance in a federal democracy — remains withheld and elusive to us. There is no explanation forthcoming. There is no timeline offered,” said Dr. Abdullah.

Ahead of the Jantar Mantar protest, the NC is also holding gatherings in Srinagar on July 11 and 13 to galvanise support in favour of the demands for Statehood and constitutional guarantees.

“This is not merely a delay. It is an affront to the democratic will of an entire people. I wish to impress upon you, my distinguished colleagues, that what is at stake here is not merely the sentiment or the status of the people of Jammu and Kashmir alone. The manner in which our State, once a constitutional entity with its own Assembly, its own government, its own identity, has been reduced and held in administrative subordination strikes at the very root of our federal polity,” reads the letter of Dr. Abdullah.

He said the upcoming protest “shall be peaceful, democratic, and constitutional”. “We are not asking for anything beyond what was promised. Our demands shall not transgress from those which have already promised to us,” said Dr. Abdullah.