The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on Monday passed a resolution calling for the immediate and urgent restoration of full statehood to the Union Territory, amid strong protests and a walkout by opposition BJP legislators.
The resolution was moved by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and passed after a heated debate in the House. The BJP opposed the resolution over references to earlier Assembly resolutions on greater autonomy and special status, with its members disrupting proceedings before eventually walking out.
Omar Abdullah's resolution seeks immediate restoration
The resolution calls upon the Government of India to restore full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and says the resolution should be forwarded to the Centre.
It was initially moved by Abdullah on Friday but its discussion was deferred after several members sought to speak on the matter. The House took it up for debate on Monday, when BJP legislators again protested against the resolution.
The resolution states that it is in addition to two earlier resolutions passed by the Assembly, one on June 26, 2000, and another on November 6, 2024.
The 2000 resolution, passed by the National Conference government headed by Farooq Abdullah, sought restoration of greater autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir as it existed before August 9, 1953. The 2024 resolution, passed after the first Assembly elections held in Jammu and Kashmir following the 2019 reorganisation, sought restoration of special status and constitutional guarantees.
Abdullah has maintained that the latest resolution is specifically about restoration of full statehood and does not replace or subsume the earlier resolutions.
BJP protests references to autonomy and Article 370
The BJP's opposition centred on the inclusion of references to the 2000 autonomy resolution and the 2024 special-status resolution.
BJP legislators had entered the Well of the House during Friday's proceedings and raised slogans against the resolution, leading to an adjournment. On Monday, the protests continued, with BJP members reportedly tearing business papers and conducting mock proceedings. Four BJP MLAs were subsequently marshalled out after creating a ruckus, according to ET's report.
The resolution also faced several proposed amendments. Ten amendments were submitted, including proposals by members of the ruling National Conference, PDP and independents seeking references to Articles 370 and 35A and the restoration of the constitutional position that existed before August 2019.
BJP Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma has said the party supports restoration of statehood but opposes bringing the issues of autonomy and Article 370 into the present resolution. He has accused the Omar Abdullah government of attempting to link the statehood demand with the earlier autonomy resolution.
J&K has remained a Union Territory since 2019
Jammu and Kashmir was reorganised in August 2019 after Parliament approved the Centre's measures ending the erstwhile state's special constitutional status. The former state was divided into two Union Territories, Jammu and Kashmir, which has a legislature, and Ladakh, which does not.
The Supreme Court, in its December 2023 judgment on the abrogation of Article 370, upheld the constitutional validity of the 2019 changes. The court also dealt with the reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir and noted the federal implications of converting a state into a Union Territory.
Restoration of statehood has remained a political issue since the reorganisation. In March 2025, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said the administration recognised the political and emotional significance of statehood and was committed to facilitating its restoration.
Abdullah has repeatedly argued that Jammu and Kashmir should receive full statehood rather than a limited form of statehood. The BJP, while saying it supports restoration, has maintained that the process should not be linked to demands concerning Article 370 or the pre-1953 constitutional position.
The Assembly's resolution will now be forwarded to the Government of India, as specified in the text adopted by the House. The resolution itself is a legislative expression of the Assembly's position and does not by itself restore statehood.