NEW DELHI: Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday said that her party would continue to mark the foundation day of Jammu and Kashmir as the Union territory as a “black day,” until the statehood was restored.
“I want to tell governor sahab that for Jammu and Kashmir and especially for the PDP, today is a black day. We will continue to observe it as a black day until the special powers of Jammu and Kashmir are not restored,” the People’s Democratic Party president told reporters in Anantnag.
“Since 1947, a state has never been turned into a UT, but a UT was turned into a state. So, what happened with Jammu and Kashmir has never happened with any other state,” she added.
Earlier, the J&K National Conference spokesperson expressed similar viewpoint saying that the Abdullah-led party wouldn’t settle for anything less than statehood.
“We will never settle for Union Territory status. Our demand is firm: full statehood and the rightful status Jammu and Kashmir held before August 5, 2019,” the spokesperson told ANI.
The comments came after J&K LG Manoj Sinha questioned the UT leaders for not attending the foundation day.
“This is not the first time we are celebrating this day. The elections in J&K just finished a few days back…Everyone cannot come to attend the event but Jammu and Kashmir is a Union territory as of date and we will have to accept this fact. PM Modi and Union HM Amit Shah also said the delimitation first, assembly elections second and then statehood. When PM Modi came here on Yoga Day, he said that assembly elections will be conducted soon and then the status of statehood will be given to J&K,” Sinha said.
The J&K UT Foundation Day commemorates the establishment of the Union territory under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act of 2019.