Statehood delay weakening democratic institutions in J&K: Ramzan

National Conference  Additional General Secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Chowdry Muhammad Ramzan Wednesday raised concerns over the continued delay in restoring Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood, calling it a breach of democratic mandate and constitutional assurances.

Speaking at the party headquarters Nawa-e-Subha, Srinagar, Choudry Ramzan said the prolonged delay has effectively reduced the elected setup to a subordinate administrative arrangement undermining the political agency of the people who, he noted, turned out in large numbers in support of full fledged democracy.

He said that if Jammu and Kashmir is truly to be treated “at par with other units of the Union then the continued downgrade of its political status is indefensible. “A region that once held full statehood, with its own constitutional identity and institutional depth, is now being governed through a diluted framework that ignores its complexity, diversity, and ground realities,” he said, stressing that the present arrangement is structurally inadequate to address the region’s layered challenges.

He further asserted that promises of restoring statehood made in Parliament and reiterated in public forums must not be reduced to political rhetoric. He urged the Centre to act without further delay, warning that continued inaction erodes trust in constitutional commitments.