Srinagar: Urging the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government to fulfil its promise to restore full statehood to the region, the ruling Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) on July 20, staged a protest for the restoration of statehood in the national capital.The protest, led by National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, was attended by around one hundred NC legislators and workers along with leaders from the Congress, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist) and others. The party held similar protests at district headquarters across Jammu and Kashmir.Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who had earlier cut short his visit to New Delhi and returned to Jammu to monitor the flood situation in the Union territory, later re-joined the protest in the capital.Omar alleged that the protesters were stopped from reaching Jantar Mantar and accused the authorities of attempting to suppress a peaceful demonstration. “We wanted to protest peacefully, but they made us a target of tear gas. Democracy is being strangled,” Omar said.The NC had originally planned to hold its protest at Jantar Mantar but alleged that permission was denied. Protesters first assembled at 5, Prithviraj Road before proceeding towards the protest site.The protest saw participation from All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary and MLA Ghulam Ahmad Mir, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee president Tariq Hameed Karra and several other Congress leaders, who marched alongside Farooq Abdullah.The chief minister also travelled in an autorickshaw to reach the protest venue after restrictions were imposed. He shared the video from the auto on his X.“We were stopped from getting to Jantar Mantar and stopped from protesting peacefully for what is rightfully ours, but we were not silenced. This is only the beginning of our struggle for statehood, our rights, our dignity and everything that was taken away from us,” he said.My walk from Jantar Mantar was about to turn into another procession so we grabbed the first available means of transport 🛺. pic.twitter.com/R8mtp3hk5X— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) July 20, 2026Addressing reporters, Omar Abdullah said the protesters had come to remind the Union government of the assurances made regarding restoration of statehood. “We have come to the national capital to demand our rights. We wanted to remind the Centre of the promise it made on the floor of Parliament and before the Supreme Court to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir after the elections. The Supreme Court had directed the Centre to restore statehood as soon as possible. If the government does not intend to honour that commitment, it should state so clearly. We will then decide our future course of action,” he said while marching towards the protest site.Farooq said the protest was intended to remind the Union government of its repeated assurances on statehood. “Today, we are fighting for full statehood, which is a promise made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union home minister [Amit Shah] in parliament, before the Supreme Court and to the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” he added.Referring to the ongoing Monsoon Session of parliament, which began today, the NC president said the timing of the protest was deliberate. “That is precisely why we have come here. Since parliament is in session, we are here to remind the government to honour its promise,” he added.Senior National Conference leaders said that New Delhi’s decision to bifurcate the erstwhile state into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh had badly affected the democratic institutions. They believe that restoration of full statehood was important to protect the democratic rights of the people.PDP, JAP and other players stay awayHowever, some major regional political players stayed away from the protest. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP), Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) and Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference (JKPC) did not participate in the protest.Justifying PDP’s decision of staying away from the protest, party president Mehbooba Mufti said NC’s protest was limited to the demand for statehood. She believes that keeping the protest confined to statehood is “insufficient”.In her letter addressed to the JKNC president, the PDP chief had mentioned that her party would participate only if the demands also included restoration of Article 370, release of political prisoners and lifting of the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami.“After careful consideration and deliberations with my senior colleagues, I have come to the conclusion that it would not be fit for us to participate in a protest whose raison d’etre is solely and exclusively the demand for statehood,” she said last week.Mehbooba said that protesting only for statehood could be interpreted as accepting the August 5, 2019 decisions that revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional status.“Protesting in unison solely for statehood would only legitimise and sanitise the illegal act of revoking Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and could be viewed as a direct endorsement of August 5, the darkest day in our collective history,” Mehbooba wrote in the two-page letter to Farooq Abdullah.NC MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi stays awayMeanwhile, National Conference MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi also distanced himself from the party’s programme and criticised the leadership for limiting its campaign to restoration of statehood.Speaking to reporters in Kulgam last week, Ruhullah said the party had received a mandate from the people on broader political issues. “The NC is going to Delhi for statehood, a responsibility for which the people did not give them a mandate,” he said.Accusing his party of advancing the BJP’s agenda, Ruhullah said he would continue to advocate for restoration of Article 370. “Let the NC work on the BJP’s project; I will work on the project of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.Ahead of the protest, the National Conference had invited Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to join the demonstration. JKPCC president Tariq Hameed Karra described statehood as the aspiration of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and said all individuals, organisations and political parties supported the demand.The Congress, while announcing its participation July 19, said that if the Centre failed to restore statehood, it would organise a march from Lakhanpur, the gateway to Jammu and Kashmir, to Lolab to build pressure on the Union government.Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party postponed its proposed Secretariat Gherao march, which had been scheduled in Srinagar on Monday, citing the worsening flood situation in Jammu division. BJP leaders said the programme had been deferred in view of the humanitarian emergency caused by heavy rainfall and flash floods, with a fresh date to be announced later.“In light of the prevailing flood situation in Rajouri and Poonch, the party has decided to defer the Secretariat Gherao March. A fresh date for the programme will be announced shortly,” BJP media in-charge Sajid Yousuf Shah said.