Congress demands immediate, unconditional restoration of IIOJK statehood
New Delhi: The Indian National Congress has demanded the immediate and unconditional restoration of full statehood to Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), saying the BJP-led Indian government has failed to honour its repeated assurances in this regard.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Congress General Secretary in-charge of IIOJK and Ladakh and Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain said seven years after the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the territory, the people of IIOJK are still waiting for the restoration of full statehood.
He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah had repeatedly assured that statehood would be restored, but those promises remain unfulfilled.
Hussain said that with delimitation process completed and Assembly elections held in the occupied territory, there was no justification for continuing with an arrangement under which the New Delhi-appointed Lieutenant Governor exercised overriding authority over matters that should be handled by an elected government. He said that the existing framework was contrary to the federal spirit of the Constitution and denied the people of IIOJK the democratic self-governance enjoyed by Indian states.
The Congress leader demanded the immediate and unconditional restoration of full statehood to IIOJK, full constitutional authority for the democratically elected government, and adherence to the constitutional provisions, democratic institutions and federal principles.
Stressing that the people of IIOJK have waited for seven years, Hussain urged the BJP-led Indian government to fulfill its repeated commitments and restore full statehood without further delay.
