NC Legislators Gear Up for Monsoon Session Protest, Pressing Centre on Statehood Demand

Srinagar: On the opening day of Parliament’s Monsoon Session, National Conference legislators prepare to march to Delhi, determined to demand Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood and constitutional guarantees long denied to its people.

Addressing the media, NC Chief Spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq said that the party would raise the issue forcefully in Delhi.

“It is time to reclaim what has been snatched from us,” he said, stressing that the restoration of statehood remains the party’s foremost priority.

He said that the decision emerged after an extended conclave of NC legislators under the guidance of senior leadership, where the party pledged to escalate its political drive for reclaiming Jammu and Kashmir’s constitutional and democratic entitlements.

NC legislature party’s meeting on Wednesday unfolded in unusual fashion as Chief Minister Omar Abdullah led ministers and MLAs to Dachigam National Park for a day-long off-site review said legislators, initially asked to assemble at the Chief Minister’s residence, were later transported under tight security to the park, where elaborate arrangements awaited them.

However, speculation in political circles suggested the venue had been shifted at the last moment.

Abdullah rejected such claims, insisting the retreat was pre-planned, on X, he wrote, “We are off for an off-site to spend the day taking stock of the last 19 months, the good, the not so good & everything in between.”

In another post, he added, “I’m sorry to disappoint you but it has NOT ‘been shifted at the last moment’. It was always my intention to conduct this meeting off-site and all arrangements have been made, days in advance, at the location originally chosen by me.”

Meanwhile, NC MLA Bashir Ahmad Veeri added to the suspense by posting a photograph showing Abdullah and fellow legislators en route, he wrote on X “Crossed Shalimar for unknown destination!”