The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly passed a resolution on Wednesday calling for the restoration of the special status that the region enjoyed under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. This provision was abrogated by the Union government in August 2019.
The resolution, moved by National Conference leader and Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Chowdhary, reaffirmed the importance of the special status and the constitutional guarantees that protected the identity, culture, and rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. It also expressed concern over their unilateral removal.
The resolution urged the Union government to initiate dialogue with the elected representatives of Jammu and Kashmir to work toward restoring the special status and its constitutional guarantees. It emphasized that any restoration process should safeguard both national unity and the legitimate aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
The resolution passed amid protests from the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which argued that it was not part of the House's agenda.
This is the first Assembly session since the recent elections in Jammu and Kashmir, marking the first polls in the region in a decade and the first since the abrogation of Article 370. Following the scrapping of Article 370, the former state was bifurcated into two Union territories, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.