J&K: National Conference chief urges 52 leaders across party lines to join protest for statehood

National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah on Thursday urged leaders across political lines to join a peaceful protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on the opening day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, demanding that statehood for Jammu and Kashmir be restored.

The Monsoon Session of Parliament will be held from July 20 to August 13.

Among the leaders to whom Abdullah addressed the letter were Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief MK Stalin and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee.

The Jammu & Kashmir National Conference President, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, has reached out to political parties across Jammu & Kashmir and leaders from across the country, inviting them to join our peaceful, democratic protest at Jantar Mantar on the opening day of the Monsoon… pic.twitter.com/rSW7HSvESL— JKNC (@JKNC_) July 9, 2026

Abdullah questioned why the Union government has offered “no timeline” for when statehood will be restored to Jammu and Kashmir.

“This is not merely a delay,” he wrote. “It is an affront to the democratic will of an entire people.”

The National Conference chief remarked that what is at stake is “not merely the sentiment or the status of the people of Jammu and Kashmir alone”.

“The manner in which our State – once a constitutional entity with its own Assembly, its own government,...

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