India's Congress-NC alliance pledges to restore IIOJK statehood, says spokesperson
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera speaks during a ceremony in an undated picture. PHOTO: Press Trust of India
Indian Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera has announced that the Congress-National Conference alliance is committed to restoring Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) statehood.
This statement comes as the Election Commission of India (ECI) has scheduled assembly elections in the region from September 18 to October 1, marking the first major electoral event since its status change in August 2019.
The timing of the election announcement follows a recent expansion of powers granted to the IIOJK lieutenant governor by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.
These expanded powers now include authority over postings and prosecution sanctions, leading to opposition criticism that the move aims to diminish the role of the chief minister and disempower local residents.
In an interview with ANI, Khera stated that J&K’s statehood was unjustly revoked when it was downgraded to a Union Territory and vowed that the Congress-National Conference alliance would work to restore this status.
He asserted that Congress has a track record of fulfilling its promises in states where it governs and claimed that the people of IIOJK have decided to support alliance parties to defeat the BJP.
Khera presented the Congress manifesto, “Haath Badlega Halaat” (Hand will change circumstances), highlighting the promise to restore statehood to IIOJK. The manifesto does not address the repeal of Article 370, which had granted special status to the region and was revoked by the BJP-led government in 2019.
In response to PM Modi’s statement that a BJP government would restore IIOJK's statehood, Khera questioned the BJP’s credibility on the issue. He argued that if the BJP truly intended to restore statehood, they would not have removed it in the first place.
Former foreign secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry noted that both Pakistan and the international community, including the Indian Supreme Court, believe that India lacks the authority to remove IIOJK's statehood permanently.