The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Monday passed a resolution calling for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir to full statehood which was proposed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah following a prolonged and heated debate.
Prior to the resolution, which was first made on 25th Sept 2020, Abdullah had tabled resolutions on “Autonomy” and “Special Status” in the Assembly earlier. These references were a point of contention between the ruling National conference led government and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
A few members raised amendments to incorporate a reference to restore autonomy and special status and also requests on the Article 370 issues on the National Conference. The question was finally put and ruled on by majority vote.
The wording of the resolution caused a great deal of opposition from the BJP legislators. Opposition Leader Sunil Sharma inferred that the BJP didn’t want to abolish the statehood cause and was against any reference to autonomy and special status. During the proceedings, slogans were raised by some members of BJP and they went the Well of the House.
The disagreement is partly because of the statement in the resolution about a 2000 J&K Assembly resolution that called for an autonomy resolution and a 2024 resolution to hold talks on the restoration of special status and constitutional protections. The BJP has contended that these should not be incorporated in a statehood resolution.
During the debate, Congress MLA Nizamuddin had termed BJP as “jingoist” and said the party was eroding the Constitution. He further stated that it was integrarity of the Centre’s commitment on the issue of restoration of statehood that should be fulfilled.
After being passed, BJP walked out in protest. The passage is the next in the elected government’s agenda for full-fledged statehood, and the autonomy and special status issues remain a source of dissension in the Assembly.