The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday, 30 September 2026, staged a public protest in Srinagar against the National Conference (NC) government led by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, accusing the ruling party of advancing an 'anti-national' agenda inside the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly. The demonstration marks one of the BJP's sharpest public escalations since the NC passed a contentious resolution linking statehood restoration to earlier autonomy demands.

How the Protest Unfolded

BJP leader Altaf Thakur led the demonstration on the streets of Srinagar, during which protesters burnt an effigy of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Speaking to reporters at the site, Thakur accused the NC of deflecting from bread-and-butter governance issues by repeatedly raising the questions of autonomy and the pre-1953 constitutional position of Jammu and Kashmir.

'Talking of these things was an act of treason against the country,' Thakur told reporters, framing the NC's legislative moves as a deliberate attempt to revive a political debate the Centre had effectively closed with the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.

The Resolution at the Heart of the Row

The BJP's protest is directly tied to a resolution recently passed by the J&K Assembly, in which the demand for statehood restoration was linked to earlier resolutions seeking autonomy and restoration of special status — including references to Article 370, Article 35A, and the concept of self-rule. The BJP has characterised this as an attempt to resurrect constitutional provisions that Parliament has already repealed.

Thakur invoked a historical precedent, pointing out that when Omar Abdullah served as a minister in the cabinet of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a previous autonomy resolution was rejected outright. 'No power on earth can bring autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir. When Omar Abdullah was a minister in the Atal Bihari government, the autonomy resolution was thrown into the dustbin, and the same should be done to the present resolution,' he said.

BJP's Allegations Against the NC Government

Beyond the constitutional debate, Thakur levelled a series of governance failures at the Abdullah administration, alleging that the NC had broken promises made to daily wagers and NHM workers ahead of the assembly elections. He argued that the government not only had not fulfilled those commitments, but reportedly had no intention of doing so.

In the sharpest charge of the day, Thakur demanded that an FIR be registered against the NC for allegedly promoting what he described as an 'ISI agenda' in Jammu and Kashmir — an allegation the NC has not yet formally responded to. He further called for the dismissal of the elected government and the imposition of Lieutenant Governor's rule in the Union Territory.

Context and What Comes Next

The BJP's protest reflects a broader political pattern in post-Article 370 Jammu and Kashmir, where the party has consistently challenged the NC's attempts to use the assembly as a platform for special-status demands. Critics argue the NC is raising legitimate constitutional grievances through democratic channels; the BJP contends these moves undermine national integration. Notably, this is not the first time the autonomy question has split J&K's political landscape — the debate dates back decades and has repeatedly shaped electoral contests in the region.

With the J&K Assembly session ongoing, further clashes over the statehood-versus-autonomy framing appear likely. Whether the Centre steps in to respond to the BJP's call for dismissing the government remains to be seen.