National Conference (NC) Lok Sabha MP Aga Ruhullah said here on Saturday that their party’s struggle is not focused on restoring statehood to Jammu and Kashmir but rather on reclaiming the constitutional guarantees that were in place before the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
“My party can go to court, but I will only remind that our fight is not for statehood, our fight is for more than that. It is for those constitutional guarantees that were snatched from us in 2019,” Ruhullah told reporters here.
In response to NC chief Farooq Abdullah’s comments about moving Supreme Court if the restoration of statehood is inordinately delayed, Ruhullah emphasised, “We should not forget our fight.” The Lok Sabha MP from Srinagar reiterated that the party’s goal is to reverse the decisions made on August 5, 2019, when the Central government abrogated Article 370 and reorganised the then state into two Union Territories — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
“The BJP has said in its manifesto as well as in the Parliament that statehood will be restored. The allied teams of the BJP (in J-K) also said they will fight for the statehood, but NC’s fight is not for statehood,” Ruhullah said.
When asked about speculation regarding a bill for the restoration of statehood to J-K that might be presented in Parliament during the monsoon session, Ruhullah responded, “I do not know about the rumours, but if the bill is presented in the Parliament, I will talk about it then”.
Regarding the report from the J-K cabinet’s subcommittee on the reservation issue, the MP expressed urgency saying, the sooner the matter is resolved, the better.
“I am waiting, and the students are also waiting for the report to return from the Law Department. I had hoped it would be returned this week. The longer it is postponed, the more it affects the students. The quicker it is returned and implemented, the better it will be for them.” he added.
