J&K statehood: What will happen at Modi's June 24 meet?
The central government had on Saturday invited top political leaders from Jammu and Kashmir, including former Chief Ministers Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, for an all-party meeting on Thursday (June 24). The meeting has sparked rumors of the restoration of J&K's statehood, which has been a federally-controlled union territory since August 2019. Here's what we know will happen at the meeting.
Meeting to be held at PM's residence
The meeting will be held at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official residence. Others invited to the meeting include Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, CPM leader Mohammed Yusuf Tarigami, JKAP chief Altaf Bukhari, Sajjad Lone chief People's Conference, J&K Congress head GA Mir, BJP's Ravinder Raina, and Panthers Party leader Bhim Singh, and former CMs Tara Chand, Muzaffar Hussain Baig, Nirmal Singh, and Kavinder Gupta.
Meeting to focus on the delimitation exercise
The future course of action for the UT of J&K will be discussed at the June 24 meeting. Sources told NDTV that the meeting will focus on the delimitation exercise in the UT, which has started ahead of the Assembly elections. They said the restoration of J&K's statehood could be discussed, adding that any such step will require the Parliament's sanction.
J&K's special status will not be restored: Report
However, sources informed CNN-News18 that Modi will discuss restoring J&K's statehood when he meets the political leaders. The UT will be granted statehood soon, they said. J&K's special status will reportedly not be restored. Sources told CNN-News18 that there will be no change to the status of Ladakh. The erstwhile state of J&K was carved into the UTs of J&K and Ladakh.
Statehood to wait until Delimitation Commission's report
The reports said that the restoration of J&K's statehood might have to wait until the Delimitation Commission submits its report. Delimitation involves redrawing the boundaries of Assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies. The Delimitation Commission, which was formed last year, is headed by Justice (Retired) Ranjana Prakash Desai. It has already written to all the District Commissioners regarding basic information.
