Omar Abdullah Alleges Bid To Scuttle NC’s July 20 Statehood Rally in Delhi

Srinagar: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday alleged that attempts are being made to scuttle the National Conference’s (NC) planned rally at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on July 20, coinciding with the opening of Parliament’s Monsoon Session, where the party intends to press for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.

Claiming that the party was facing unexplained delays in securing official permission for the programme, Abdullah suggested that certain elements were seeking to undermine the event by scheduling overlapping programmes.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the unveiling of the Kashmir Marathon 2026 merchandise here, Abdullah said the NC had been pursuing permission for the protest for the past several days but was yet to receive approval. “We have been trying to get permission for the last four to five days. Others managed to get permission within 24 hours, but we are still waiting,” he said.

Referring to what he described as efforts to disrupt the NC’s plans, he added, “Some people are trying to sabotage our programme. They changed their dates and overlapped them with ours.”

Abdullah, however, refrained from elaborating on the party’s political strategy, saying a clearer picture would emerge during the NC’s scheduled programme on July 11. “I am not going to convert today’s event into a National Conference press conference. Tomorrow’s programme will answer many of the questions being asked today. If anything remains unanswered, I will address it during my visit to Jammu on July 12,” he said.

Even as it awaits official clearance for the Delhi demonstration, the NC has intensified efforts to build nationwide support for what it describes as a collective and constitutional demand for the restoration of J&K’s statehood. The party has launched an extensive outreach campaign aimed at bringing together regional political parties, civil society organisations, trade bodies, and religious leaders from across the country, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), for the July 20 protest at Jantar Mantar.

The NC leadership has projected the demonstration as a national-level assertion of a constitutional commitment that, it argues, has been delayed for far too long. The protest, timed to coincide with the commencement of Parliament’s Monsoon Session, is intended to amplify demands for the restoration of statehood and remind the Union Government of assurances previously given on the issue.

NC Chief Spokesperson and MLA Tanvir Sadiq announced earlier this week that invitation letters have been sent to a broad spectrum of stakeholders in J&K, including the Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulama (MMU) led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, political parties across ideological lines, former legislators, and representatives of trade and business bodies. According to Sadiq, the initiative is not meant to serve partisan interests but is aimed at forging a united front around what the party views as a shared democratic aspiration.

Chief Minister Abdullah has also said that invitations have been extended to leaders of the INDIA bloc as well as regional parties across the country. He noted that NC president Farooq Abdullah is personally reaching out to national political leaders, including those outside both the INDIA alliance and the NDA, to ensure that the protest reflects the widest possible political consensus. Abdullah maintained that support for the restoration of statehood cuts across political affiliations and has received unanimous backing from civil society in J&K.

He pointed to a recent three-hour meeting attended by nearly 170 representatives from diverse sectors, including religious scholars, traders, educationists, retired bureaucrats, and tourism stakeholders. The gathering unanimously adopted a resolution urging the Government of India to restore statehood without further delay and pledged support for the July 20 demonstration. According to Abdullah, participants were united in the belief that the restoration of statehood had already been delayed for too long and could not be postponed any further.

Kashmir’s chief Muslim cleric, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, on Friday asserted that the ongoing campaign should not be confined to the demand for the restoration of J&K’s statehood alone. He said the movement must also seek the restoration of Articles 370 and 35A, along with all constitutional safeguards, protections, and rights that were taken away from the people of the erstwhile state.

Meanwhile, the BJP leader Sunil Sharma announced that his party would not participate in the NC’s proposed July 20 rally in New Delhi. He maintained that the NC-led government was attempting to divert public attention from what he described as its failures in governance and its inability to fulfil promises made to the people during the 2024 Assembly election campaign.