Omar Abdullah Moves J&K Statehood Resolution as Assembly Debate Sparks BJP Uproar
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah moved a resolution in the Legislative Assembly on September 25 seeking the “immediate and urgent” restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. He urged the House to deliberate on the resolution and forward it to the Government of India, arguing that the restoration of statehood had been promised after delimitation and elections.
Abdullah said the resolution was intended to remind the Centre of commitments made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. He pointed to the sequence of delimitation, elections and promised restoration of statehood, arguing that the first two stages had already taken place. He also said the demand was for “full statehood”, including the powers associated with a state government.
The resolution specifically referred to two earlier Assembly resolutions — one adopted in June 2000 and another in November 2024. Abdullah clarified that the new resolution did not replace or subsume those earlier resolutions, but was focused on restoring full statehood to the Union Territory.
The reference to the 2000 autonomy resolution immediately triggered opposition from BJP legislators. That earlier resolution, passed when Farooq Abdullah was chief minister, had called for a return to Jammu and Kashmir’s pre-1953 constitutional position. The BJP objected to bringing the historical resolution into the present statehood debate.
The BJP has said it supports restoration of statehood but objects to the language and historical references contained in Omar Abdullah’s resolution. Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma argued that references connected with the pre-2019 constitutional position were unacceptable to the party.
The dispute intensified when BJP legislators entered the well of the House and raised slogans during the proceedings. The confrontation led to an adjournment on September 25, with the Assembly unable to proceed with a substantive debate on the resolution that day.
When the resolution was taken up again on September 28, several legislators proposed amendments. Eight of the 10 amendments sought to broaden the resolution by referring to restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s former special status, including Articles 370 and 35A.
The Assembly ultimately passed the resolution on September 28 by voice vote after BJP members walked out. The adopted resolution called for the immediate restoration of full statehood and is to be forwarded to the Government of India.
The passage was accompanied by another confrontation in the House. BJP legislators protested references to the former constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir and staged a walkout before the vote. The episode highlighted the continuing political disagreement over how the demand for statehood should be framed following the 2019 changes to Jammu and Kashmir’s constitutional and administrative status.
Omar Abdullah has also argued against any arrangement in which restoration of statehood would be conditional on the complete elimination of militancy. During the debate, he questioned whether such a condition could effectively give Pakistan an indirect role in determining when Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood should be restored.
The Assembly’s resolution is a political and legislative expression of its position; implementation of statehood ultimately depends on action by the Union government and the constitutional framework governing Jammu and Kashmir. The latest development therefore keeps the question of full statehood at the centre of the political debate in the Union Territory.
