Government meetings spark buzz of J&K statehood

Adding fuel to this was a meeting of NDA members of Parliament called for Tuesday morning and the separate Sunday meetings between President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah.

Government officials and ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) functionaries remained tight-lipped about the bunch of meetings, including the one Union home minister Amit Shah held with national security advisor Ajit Doval, Intelligence Bureau chief Tapan Kumar Deka, and home secretary Govind Mohan on Monday.

No details of this meeting, which was held in Parliament precincts, were shared.

The speculation even prompted J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah to take to X and post: “I’ve heard every possible permutation & combination about what to expect in J&K tomorrow so let me stick my neck out and say nothing will happen tomorrow – fortunately nothing bad will happen but unfortunately nothing positive will happen either. ”

J&K was bifurcated into two UTs of J&K and Ladakh after Parliament on August 5, 2019 passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill and read down Article 370 and 35 (A) that gave the erstwhile state special powers to determine issues of domicile. Since the formation of the National Conference-led government in J&K almost 10 months ago, there has been a clamour to restore statehood in J&K. To be sure, both the Prime Minister and the home minister have stated that the region’s statehood would be restored at the appropriate time.

A senior BJP leader, while refusing to comment on the speculation said: “This is a promise that the government has already made…and it will be done when the time is right.”

This person, who asked not to be named, attributed the speculation of “a big ticket announcement” to the two major events that took place on August 5. The first was the Bill for Abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 and a year later, on the foundation ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Modi and Shah separately calling on President Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan prompted rumours that the Centre may have a crucial bill on its agenda for the ongoing monsoon session that will end on August 21. To be sure, officials and party functionaries said the two leaders calling on the President was not unusual. “The PM briefs the President on his foreign visits, the HM too meets her as required…” a second BJP functionary said.

The meetings come in the backdrop of the impending vice presidential election that has been necessitated by the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar who announced his exit on July 21, citing ill health. The election to pick the new VP has been scheduled for September 9, with August 21 being the last date for filing nominations.

The second party functionary said the process of shortlisting candidates and reaching out to the allies including the Telugu Desam Party and the Janata Dal (United) to elicit their support will be initiated by the BJP leadership. “So far, all the names being mentioned in the media are speculative,” the second functionary said.

Some party leaders however indicated that the candidate is unlikely to be a sitting Lok Sabha MP or someone who holds a gubernatorial position.

A meeting of the NDA parliamentary party has also been scheduled for Tuesday, which is likely to be addressed by the PM. Although such meetings used to be routinely held during Parliament sessions, their frequency has dropped after 2024. The last such meeting of NDA lawmakers was held on July 2, 2024.

All eyes are also on the announcement for the election of the BJP’s new party president. The term of the incumbent JP Nadda was extended till June 2024, but the election process has been delayed.Traditionally, the party president is elected unopposed.

While the constitutional requirements for the election have been met, elections to pick new state presidents in at least 50% of the states are over, but there has been no word on the reason for the delay in announcing the date for the election of the new party president.

A few party leaders said the process may get underway after the election of the VP is over, while some others indicated that the incumbent may continue till state polls are held in Bihar later this year.