Cong Demands Law To Ensure Statehood For J&K And Sixth Schedule For Ladakh; Writes To PM Modi

Congress MP and Leader of Opposition (LoP), Rahul Gandhi, and party President Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring legislation in the upcoming Monsoon session of Parliament to grant full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and include the Union Territory of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

The Parliament session is scheduled to begin on July 21. In a joint letter addressed to PM Modi, they stated that there was no precedent in the past when a state had been downgraded to a UT.

This comes days after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was barred from visiting the martyrs’ graveyard in Srinagar to pay homage to 22 people who were killed while fighting the Dogra rule. Omar climbed the wall while one of his ministers rode a two-wheeler to reach the gravesite, defying police restrictions on visiting the place.

While stating that the dual control structure in the UT was affecting governance, the National Conference (NC) sought immediate restoration of statehood, reminding the Prime Minister of his earlier promise on the issue.

The Congress letter also sought the inclusion of Ladakh in the sixth schedule of the Indian Constitution, which is a long-standing demand of the people of the area, who argue that the land and job rights of the local people will be safeguarded after this constitutional measure. According to several leaders in Ladakh, after the Sixth Schedule, the UT can frame its own laws to bar the jobs and sale of land to non-locals.

"We urge the government to bring forward legislation in the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament to grant full statehood to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Additionally, we request that the government bring forward legislation to include the Union Territory of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution", the letter said.

The move has been welcomed by both the ruling National Conference and the local Congress leadership.

NC spokesperson, Imran Nabi Dar, said that this was a welcome development. "We hope that a bill will be passed in the Parliament to grant statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. Already, the Prime Minister has promised that first there would be delimitation, then elections, following which Jammu and Kashmir will be granted statehood.  We hope that the promises made to  people are kept."

Senior Congress leader, G N Monga said that it was the demand of the Congress for a long time that Jammu and Kashmir should be granted statehood.

"Statehood is the first step in the political process. After that, we will press for restoring the rights of the local people and safeguarding the rights over jobs and land rights”, he said.

He further added that the Congress party was also planning to hold a protest in Delhi ahead of the Parliament session for the restoration of statehood, and the party has been, in the past few months, taking out marches in the UT in support of the demand.

The letter further stated, "For the past five years, the people of J&K have consistently called for the restoration of full statehood. This demand is both legitimate and firmly grounded in their constitutional and democratic rights. It is important to recognise that while there have been instances of Union Territories being granted statehood in the past, the case of Jammu and Kashmir is without precedent in independent India. This is the first time a full-fledged state has been downgraded to a Union Territory following its bifurcation."

Congress also referred to assurances made by the Union Government before the Supreme Court that the statehood would be restored at the earliest.

About the inclusion of  Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule, the party said, "This would be a significant step towards addressing the cultural, developmental, and political aspirations of the people of Ladakh, while safeguarding their rights, land, and identity."