Calls for statehood gain steam

NEW DELHI: Two years after the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two separate Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, there is a demand growing there for the restoration of statehood. It is significant for Ladakh to have demanded this given its long quest for UT status that had finally materialised in 2019.

The reorganisation of the state on August 5, 2019, included the reading down of articles 370 and 35(A) that gave the erstwhile state its special status and the mandate to define its domicile rules that also laid down conditions for employment. The UT of Jammu and Kashmir has a legislature, but the UT of Ladakh doesn’t have one.

While there is no unanimous demand for the restoration of the special status J&K enjoyed, with only regional parties such as the National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party challenging the abrogation of the articles in court, political parties are united in their demand for the restoration of statehood. Barring the Bharatiya Janata Party at the national level, all the other parties have demanded the restoration of statehood before the delimitation exercise gets over, which is mandatory for the holding of elections according to the reorganisation law. However, the local unit of the BJP is in favour of restoring statehood even though it was at the forefront of demanding the abrogation of the articles 370 and 35 (A). “It is a promise that the Prime Minister has made, and we want him to fulfil it. There is a concern in Jammu that even post reorganisation little has changed on the ground vis-à-vis development in the region. Then there is also the concern that taking advantage of loopholes in the law, outsiders can grab the land,” said a local BJP leader.