• Source:JND
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J-K Assembly Election:Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi are in Jammu and Kashmir ahead of the upcoming elections. Addressing a press conference, the party chief on Thursday said that Congress, if it comes to power will give statehood to the union territory.

"In Jammu and Kashmir, we all should fight together and we want to move forward by taking the opposition along as well...Today they (BJP) are worried and that is why you must have seen that they wanted to pass 2-3 bills but due to opposition they withdrew or they sent them to the Joint Parliamentary Committee," Kharge said.

"When everyone strongly opposed the Waqf Board Amendment Bill, it was sent to the Joint Parliamentary Committee...We will give statehood to Jammu and Kashmir," he added.


Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also addressed the media and said that it is the priority of the Congress party and the INDIA Bloc to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.

The former Congress president stated that his party's goal is to restore democratic rights to the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

"It is our priority and also of the INDIA bloc to restore statehood in J-K as soon as possible. We had expected this could be done prior to the elections, but it is okay, elections have been declared. It is a step forward and we are hoping that statehood will be restored as soon as possible and the democratic rights of the people of J-K will be restored," Gandhi said.

He said it is the first time since Independence that a state has been downgraded to a Union Territory (UT).

"This has never happened before. UTs have become states, but it is the first time that a state has become a UT. We are very clear in our national manifesto as well that it is a priority for us that the people of J-K and Ladakh get their democratic rights back," he added.

(With inputs from agency)