Delhi, July 20, 2026
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah took an auto-rickshaw ride on Monday from Jantar Mantar to reach Prithviraj Road, the changed venue of National Conference (NC) statehood restoration protest in Delhi led by party president Dr Farooq Abdullah.
Omar Abdullah hired an auto-rickshaw and rode in it along with his two sons, Zahir Abdullah and Zamir Abdullah, carrying a placard.
He said on X, “My walk from Jantar Mantar was about to turn into another procession so we grabbed the first available means of transport.”
He also shared a video of his auto-rickshaw drive on his X post.
Jammu and Kashmir’s ruling NC party held a protest in the national capital demanding immediate restoration of statehood. The party urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to honour his commitment in Parliament to restore statehood to the UT.
J&K Congress leaders, including state unit president Tariq Hamid Karra and AICC member Ghulam Ahmad Mir, also joined the NC protest.
Led by NC president Farooq Abdullah, the leaders and workers gathered at the Jammu and Kashmir House on the opening day of Parliament’s Monsoon session.
They carried placards reading “Apna wada pura karo (Fulfil your promise)”, “Restore rights and dignity of people of J&K” and “Restore full statehood”. The protesters also raised slogans like “Modi ka wada, kyun raha aadha? (Why has Modi’s promise remained unfulfilled?)”.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was also seen walking towards the Constitution Club, where a seminar on the restoration of the UT’s statehood was being held.
“We are fighting for full statehood, which was promised by the prime minister and the home minister in Parliament, as well as in the Supreme Court, and also to the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” Farooq Abdullah told reporters.
“I hope the government will respect the wishes of the people of this country. I hope they will work for the good of this country and that the problems of Ladakh will also be solved and the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir will be restored,” Farooq Abdullah said.
The statehood restoration protest was originally planned by the NC to be held at Jantar Mantar, but the Delhi administration had not communicated permission to the NC till this morning, NC leaders said.
The limelight at Jantar Mantar, however, belonged to the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP). Protesters marching towards Parliament from the Sansad Marg side were stopped by security forces outside the Sansad Marg Police, and security forces used batons to control the crowd.
Police stopped the protesters at Raisina Road, barely 200 metres from Parliament.
The CJP on Monday said the government has reached out to them for talks and that two of its spokespersons met Union minister J. P. Nadda to put forth the activist outfit’s demands.(Agency)
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