Rahul Gandhi promises restoration of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir at election rally

Inaugurating the Congress party's campaign for the upcoming assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, vowed to restore statehood for the people of Jammu and Kashmir during a rally at Ramban on Wednesday.

In his speech, Rahul Gandhi referred to the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir as “Raja” (king) and accused the central government of depriving the people of Jammu and Kashmir of the benefits they deserve.

“For the first time in the history of India, statehood has been snatched away. The Union Territory was first declared a state… A state has been abolished and the rights of the people have been snatched away. First of all, Jammu and Kashmir must be given back its statehood because not only your state has been snatched away from you, but your rights, your wealth, everything is being snatched away from you,” Gandhi said.

“In 1947, we deposed the kings and formed a democratic government, we gave the country a constitution. Today there is a king in Jammu and Kashmir, his name is LG…” he added.

“Therefore, our first step would be to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. We wanted to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir before holding assembly elections, but the BJP was not ready for that and wanted elections to be held first,” Rahul said.

“We will ensure restoration of statehood in the region whether the BJP wants it or not. We will put pressure on the government under the banner of INDIA Alliance to ensure restoration of statehood,” the Congress MP added.

Rahul was addressing an election rally in Sangaldan, which is part of Banihal constituency in Ramban district.

The first phase of voting in the Jammu and Kashmir parliamentary elections is scheduled for September 18, with results expected to be announced on October 8.

For the elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the Congress has formed an alliance with Farooq Abdullah's National Conference.

Together, the two parties will contest a total of 83 seats, with the National Conference contesting 51 seats and the Congress in 32 constituencies.

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