Kharge, Rahul write to PM Modi; urge govt to bring legislation restore J&K statehood

Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to press for a legislation in Parliament's upcoming Monsoon session to grant full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.

The leaders of opposition in the two houses of Parliament -- Kharge is the LoP in the Rajya Sabha and Gandhi is the LoP in the Lok Sabha -- also called on the government to bring a legislation to include the Union Territory of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution.

In their joint letter to Modi, Kharge and Gandhi said that for the past five years, the people of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir have consistently called for the restoration of full statehood.

This demand is both legitimate and firmly grounded in their constitutional and democratic rights, they said.

"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," the letter said.

"Your goodself has, on multiple occasions, personally reiterated the government's commitment to restoring statehood. In your interview in Bhubaneswar on 19 May 2024, you stated: 'The restoration of statehood is a solemn promise we have made and we stand by it'. Again, while addressing a rally in Srinagar on 19 September 2024, you reaffirmed: 'We have said in Parliament that we will restore the region's statehood'," the two leaders said.

The Union government has also made similar assurances before the Supreme Court in the Article 370 matter, submitting that statehood would be restored "at the earliest and as soon as possible", they pointed out.

"In view of the foregoing and aforementioned, we urge upon the government to bring forward a legislation in the upcoming Monsoon session of Parliament to grant full statehood to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir," Kharge and Gandhi said.

"Additionally, we request that the government bring forward legislation to include the Union Territory of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution," they 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, Kharge and Gandhi said.

The letter comes a day after the top Congress leadership decide to raise issues such as the Pahalgam terror attack, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar, the restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and rising atrocities against women in the country during the Monsoon session starting July 21.