Onlykashmir.in News Desk
Jammu and Kashmir’s political temperature rose sharply on Monday as Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma laid out the Bharatiya Janata Party’s position on the Statehood resolution before the Legislative Assembly, offering conditional support while rejecting what he described as attempts to reopen the constitutional past.
Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, Sharma said the BJP is firmly committed to restoring Statehood to the Union Territory and would back a resolution confined exclusively to that demand. “Statehood is the agenda of the BJP, and we are firmly committed to it. If the Chief Minister brings only a Statehood resolution, we will support it,” he said, adding that a matter of such sensitivity could not be rushed or governed by unilateral deadlines. Questioning the authority to fix a timeline, he said discussions should not be conducted in haste.
The opposition’s objection, Sharma explained, lies in the references to the 2000 autonomy resolution and the 2024 special-status resolution contained in the government’s text. In his view, these references mix the Statehood question with the erstwhile constitutional arrangement of the region and the pre-1953 position. He argued that the political settlement reflected in the 1975 Sheikh-Indira Accord cannot be set aside while trying to revive an earlier arrangement, and pointed to the National Conference’s own positions over the years.
Sharma also turned to the Congress, which he said had backed the National Conference on the resolution. He asked the party to state publicly whether it supports a return to the pre-1953 arrangement, including Article 370 and Article 35A, and said its leaders must be held accountable for the answer.
On security, the Leader of Opposition described the situation in the region as peaceful and said Statehood was the only major demand that remained. He cautioned, however, that Jammu and Kashmir is a sensitive region where neighbouring forces seek to exploit internal disputes. “There is no room for any Pakistan agenda in J&K. Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India,” he asserted.
The party has also escalated the matter within the House. Sharma criticised Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather for allowing the resolution to be taken up despite objections from the BJP benches and confirmed that a motion seeking the Speaker’s removal has been moved. He said the party would continue to pursue the issue through democratic and constitutional means.
Looking ahead, the BJP will take its campaign to the streets. Sharma announced protests across the Union Territory against the resolution, particularly its references to the pre-1953 position, promising that the party would oppose the effort “from Lakhanpur to Teetwal”. He said the BJP would also keep raising governance and development concerns affecting ordinary residents. The debate now places the question of how Statehood is framed, and not merely whether it is restored, at the centre of J&K’s political discourse.
