The National Conference (NC) protested in New Delhi on Monday (July 20, 2026) to demand immediate restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and call on the Modi government to honour its commitment made in Parliament and before the Supreme Court.

Led by NC president Farooq Abdullah, NC 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 seen walking towards the Constitution Club, where a seminar on the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir'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," the former Chief Minister said.

Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary said it is unfortunate that the people of Jammu and Kashmir had to come to Delhi to remind the Centre of its promise.

"You promised the people of Jammu and Kashmir that you would restore statehood after the elections. Today, it has been nearly a year and a half, and neither the Prime Minister nor the home minister has fulfilled that promise," he said.

Mr. Choudhary said the NC, the Congress and their alliance partners had assembled in Delhi to remind the Centre of the assurance given to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

"You made it in Parliament, you made it in the Supreme Court, and you made it to every single child in Jammu and Kashmir that you would restore statehood. When will that appropriate time finally come?" he asked.

Jammu and Kashmir was reorganised into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh in August 2019 following the abrogation of Article 370. In December 2023, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the Centre's decision, observing that statehood should be restored at the earliest.

Elected govt in JK normalising ‘abrogation of Article 370’: PDP over NC protest in Delhi

Opposition PDP leader Iltija Mufti on Monday (July 20, 2026) described the ruling National Conference protest in Delhi over restoration of statehood as a “lacklustre and deliberately understated event”.

“Instead of a lacklustre, deliberately understated and soft-pedalled one-day event at a random Delhi club without even a whimper about Article 370, imagine a protest in Jantar Mantar reverberating with slogans for reinstituting Jammu and Kashmir’s Special Status,” Ms. Iltija said.

She said it was “unfortunate” that the elected government in Jammu and Kashmir is choosing to normalise an “illegal and disempowering act” of abrogation of Article 370.

The PDP, which was one of the parties invited by the NC, did not join the protest.

The party had laid down conditions to join the NC protest in Delhi, calling for including the demands of restoration of Article 370, release of political prisoners and lifting the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami in the protest agenda.

In a letter to NC president Farooq Abdullah on Saturday (July 20, 2026), PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said that after discussing the issue, the party does not seem fit to join the protest exclusively for the demand of statehood.

“After careful consideration and deliberations with my senior colleagues, I have come to the conclusion that it would not be fit for us to participate in a protest whose raison d’etre is solely and exclusively the demand for statehood,” she said.

The PDP will join the Jantar Mantar protest only if the restoration of Article 370, the release of political prisoners, and the lifting of the ban on Jamaat are central to its agenda, Ms. Mehbooba said in the letter.