NC to shun ‘UT Foundation Day’ organised by officials in J&K

We do not accept UT status. No one from our party will participate in the event, the NC spokesman said

by · The Hindu

The ruling National Conference (NC) on Wednesday decided to stay away from a function to mark the Foundation Day of the Union Territory of J&K. It is being organised by the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar Bidhuri, at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar on October 31.

NC leader and spokesman Tanvir Sadiq said his party’s manifesto “clearly terms the actions of August 5, 2019, as illegal and unconstitutional.” “J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah recently handed a Cabinet resolution on restoration of statehood to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. We do not accept UT status. No one from our party will participate in the event,” Mr. Sadiq said, while reiterating the demand to restore statehood as early as possible.

CPI(M) leader and Kulgam MLA, M.Y. Tarigami, also took exception to the event. “A day that was an assault on the constitutional rights of citizens shouldn’t be celebrated. It is inappropriate,” Mr. Tarigami said.

Mr. Bidhuri has invited officials and locals to attend. J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha is the chief guest. The L-G administration started commemorating October 31 as Foundation Day in 2023. After the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, new laws and provisions under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act followed on October 31 in 2019.

The event has cornered the ruling NC, which is agitating for the restoration of statehood. The Cabinet, headed by CM Abdullah, in its first meeting this month passed a resolution, calling for “restoration of J&K’s Statehood in its original form.” With 55 members supporting the NC in the 90-member J&K Assembly, the NC is likely to introduce a resolution on Article 370 in the upcoming Assembly session starting from November 4. The event also highlights the collision course the L-G administration and the Abdullah government are on in J&K.

Published - October 31, 2024 03:33 am IST