The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly passed a resolution on September 28, 2026, seeking the immediate restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. The resolution was moved by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and was passed after a heated debate in the House, with BJP legislators staging a walkout before the vote.
The resolution calls upon the Government of India to restore full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and provides for the resolution to be forwarded to the Centre for necessary action. The demand comes after Jammu and Kashmir was reorganised as a Union Territory in August 2019, following the Centre’s decision to remove the region’s special constitutional status under Article 370.
The debate, however, extended beyond the question of statehood. Several members sought amendments referring to the special status and autonomy arrangements that existed before August 2019. Reports said that 10 amendments were moved, with several seeking references to provisions including Article 370 and Article 35A.
The BJP objected particularly to references connected with the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly’s earlier resolutions on greater autonomy and special status. BJP legislators said they support the restoration of statehood, but opposed language that they interpreted as seeking a return to the constitutional position that existed before August 2019. BJP Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma expressed this position during the Assembly proceedings.
The disagreement led to heated exchanges inside the Assembly, with BJP members entering the well of the House, raising slogans and protesting against the wording and amendments associated with the resolution. The BJP subsequently walked out of the Assembly before the resolution was passed.
The resolution also referred to earlier decisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, including the June 26, 2000 resolution on greater autonomy and the November 6, 2024 resolution concerning the region’s special status. These references became a central point of disagreement between the ruling benches and the BJP.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has argued that the restoration of statehood is an important issue for Jammu and Kashmir and has questioned the continued delay in returning the region to full statehood. During the Assembly proceedings, the government side maintained that the demand for statehood should be treated separately from the wider political debate over the constitutional changes made in 2019.
The BJP‘s position was that it supports statehood but does not support linking that demand with the restoration of the pre-2019 constitutional arrangement. This distinction became one of the principal issues during the Assembly debate.
The Assembly’s decision is therefore significant because it formally places the demand for restoration of full statehood before the Government of India. At the same time, the debate demonstrated continuing political differences in Jammu and Kashmir over the relationship between statehood, autonomy and the constitutional changes of August 2019.
The resolution now becomes part of the ongoing political discussion over the future administrative and constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir. While the Assembly has expressed its demand through the resolution, any decision on restoring statehood will involve the Central Government.
The developments in the Assembly also highlight the different positions of the major political groups in Jammu and Kashmir. The National Conference-led government has made restoration of statehood a major issue, while the BJP has stated that it supports statehood but objects to references that, in its view, go beyond that demand and revive questions concerning the pre-2019 constitutional position.
The issue is expected to remain an important subject of political debate in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly around the questions of statehood, governance, constitutional status and Centre–J&K relations.
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