JAMMU, Oct. 1
The Bharatiya Janata Party held a protest against the Omar Abdullah-led National Conference government at Gangyal in Jammu on Thursday, accusing it of linking the demand for restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood with constitutional issues settled by Parliament in 2019.
The protest, led by J&K BJP General Secretary Baldev Singh Billawaria in Jammu South district, saw party workers and local residents raise slogans against the NC government and burn its effigy.
Senior BJP functionaries, including J&K BJP All Cells In-charge Ved Sharma, district Prabhari Praduman Singh, district president Naresh Singh Jasrotia and SC Morcha president Dharminder Kumar, participated along with party workers and residents.
Addressing the protesters, Billawaria said the BJP supported restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir but opposed attempts to connect that demand with the restoration of the region’s former constitutional arrangements.
“Statehood and the pre-1953 agenda are two entirely different issues,” he said, arguing that the demand for statehood should not be used to revive debates over autonomy, Article 370 or Article 35A.
His remarks reflect the BJP’s position in the continuing political debate over Jammu and Kashmir’s constitutional status. The National Conference has maintained its own political position on autonomy and the constitutional changes made in August 2019.
The protest followed the Legislative Assembly’s passage of a statehood resolution that, according to Billawaria, contained references to the 2000 autonomy resolution and the 2024 special-status resolution.
Billawaria claimed those references demonstrated an attempt by the National Conference to keep earlier constitutional demands politically active.
The allegation represents the BJP’s interpretation of the resolution and the NC government’s political intentions.
The BJP leader also accused the Omar Abdullah government of focusing on constitutional and political disputes to divert attention from what he described as failures in governance and unfulfilled electoral commitments.
He specifically referred to promises concerning 200 units of free electricity, free gas cylinders and other welfare measures.
Billawaria said the government should explain the status of those commitments rather than reopen debates surrounding Jammu and Kashmir’s former constitutional arrangements.
“The people want development, employment, basic amenities and accountable governance, not a return to the politics of the past,” he said.
The protest highlights an important distinction in the positions taken by the BJP on Jammu and Kashmir’s future constitutional arrangements.
While the party reiterated its support for restoration of statehood, it maintained that this should remain separate from questions involving Article 370, Article 35A or demands for greater autonomy.
Article 370, which had provided Jammu and Kashmir with a special constitutional status, was effectively abrogated by Parliament in August 2019. The erstwhile state was subsequently reorganised into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The Supreme Court in December 2023 upheld the constitutional validity of the 2019 changes while directing that steps should be taken to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood at the earliest opportunity.
Statehood has since remained a significant political issue in Jammu and Kashmir, including after the restoration of an elected Legislative Assembly and government.
The National Conference has made restoration of statehood a major political demand while also continuing to articulate its opposition to the constitutional changes of 2019.
The BJP, meanwhile, distinguishes between the two questions. It supports restoring statehood while maintaining that the changes concerning Article 370 and Article 35A should not be reversed.
That distinction formed the central message of Thursday’s demonstration in Gangyal.
Billawaria said the party would continue opposing efforts to revive Article 370, Article 35A or what he described as the pre-1953 autonomy agenda, while supporting the demand for restoration of statehood.
The Gangyal protest therefore reflected the wider political disagreement over what restoration of statehood should mean for Jammu and Kashmir.
While there is political support across several parties for returning statehood, differences remain over whether that process should be accompanied by a broader reconsideration of the constitutional changes introduced in 2019.
For the BJP, Thursday’s message was that the two issues should remain separate: statehood can be restored, but the constitutional arrangements that existed before August 2019 should not be reopened.
