People's Conference (PC) president and MLA Sajad Lone on Friday, 17 July alleged that the ruling National Conference's (NC) proposed sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar for restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood is, in reality, 'an attempt to bury Article 370.' The remarks came after Lone received a formal invitation from former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and NC President Dr Farooq Abdullah to join the demonstration scheduled for 20 July.

Lone's Core Allegation

Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, Lone said his party's primary concern remains the constitutional position of J&K as it stood before 2019. 'Our party's stand is that the position of J&K before 2019, matters for us the most,' he said. He questioned the NC's intent, pointing to a meeting between NC leaders and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 3 August 2019 — days before the abrogation of Article 370 — and noting that 'no one knows what was discussed there.'

Lone further argued that the Assembly, once a powerful legislative body, has been weakened since J&K was reorganised into a Union Territory. He claimed that no statehood resolution was brought before the House for two years, and that when he finally moved one, the Speaker rejected it on the grounds that the matter is sub judice.

A Warning Against Pan-India Politics

Lone cautioned against allowing the statehood question to become a bargaining chip in national political calculations. 'If it becomes Opposition vs BJP where will the people of J&K go,' he said. He acknowledged that statehood restoration is inevitable — 'Statehood will be restored today or tomorrow' — but stressed that the NC had won a strong mandate specifically to restore Article 370, which figures in the party's manifesto. 'Don't make this issue a football in pan India politics,' he added.

His sharpest charge was direct: the NC's proposed protest 'is not a movement for Statehood, this is an attempt to bury Article 370.'

NC Yet to Receive Permission for Jantar Mantar Protest

National Conference chief spokesperson and MLA Tanvir Sadiq told reporters separately that the party had not yet received official permission to hold the protest at Jantar Mantar on 20 July. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has, however, made clear that the demonstration will proceed regardless — though the venue and format may be adjusted if permission is denied.

Background: J&K Since August 2019

The abrogation of Article 370 on 5 August 2019 stripped J&K of its special status and bifurcated the state into two Union Territories — Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Statehood restoration has since been a central demand across the political spectrum in the region, though parties differ sharply on whether it should be pursued independently of the Article 370 question. The Supreme Court upheld the abrogation in December 2023, making the legal route to restoration of the pre-2019 constitutional arrangement effectively closed for now. The NC's protest, critics like Lone argue, conflates the two issues in a way that lets the statehood demand absorb the Article 370 movement without delivering on either.

What Comes Next

The NC is expected to confirm the final protest venue and format in the coming days. Lone's public refusal to endorse the protest — despite receiving a personal invitation from Farooq Abdullah — signals a deepening fault line among J&K's opposition parties over strategy and intent. How the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Centre respond to the demonstration, and whether other regional parties join, will shape the political temperature in the Valley heading into the next legislative session.