Jammu, Sep 25: Senior BJP leader and MLA Sham Lal Sharma on Friday urged the Union Home Minister Amit Shah to immediately dismiss the J&K government, which, he alleged, “crossed its constitutional limits by passing a resolution that endangered the sovereignty and integrity of the nation.”
Reference was to the resolution moved by the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, in ongoing autumn session of J&K Legislative Assembly in Srinagar, on September 25, 2026, calling for the immediate and urgent restoration of full statehood to J&K, in continuation of the Assembly resolutions of June 26, 2000 and November 6, 2024. The resolution was robustly opposed by 29 BJP legislators.
Former minister Sham Sharma maintained that the situation was very alarming as the National Conference-Congress government was attempting to overrun its constitutional domain, challenge Parliament and Supreme Court and thus endangering sovereignty and integrity of the nation.
He also accused the Speaker J&K Legislative Assembly Abdul Rahim Rather of “violating set norms by allowing the Chief Minister to move such a resolution”, when, according to him, it was not “properly tabled before the House in accordance with the prescribed procedure.”
Sham Sharma, accompanied by MLAs Dr Narinder Singh, Vikram Randhawa, Yudhvir Sethi, Arvind Gupta and Surinder Bhagat, was addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters, Trikuta Nagar, Jammu on Friday evening.
Sharma said the most serious concern in the resolution of September 25, 2026 was the reference to the resolution of June 26, 2000, which, he said, represented the demand for restoration of the pre-1953 arrangement and greater autonomy. The 2000 resolution had sought restoration of greater autonomy to the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir.
He said that the present resolution also referred to the November 6, 2024 resolution.
Sham Sharma questioned why two such earlier resolutions were being brought into the present resolution concerning statehood. “The latest resolution indeed states that it is in addition to the resolutions passed by the House on June 26, 2000 and November 6, 2024,” he noted with concern.
Former minister said the present resolution, read together with the two earlier resolutions, was an alarming development and alleged that the NC-led government was attempting to move Jammu and Kashmir towards the politics and demands associated with the pre-1953 period. He said the references raised questions about demands concerning autonomy, separate identity and other arrangements that, according to him, went far beyond the issue of restoration of statehood.
He asked whether the NC-Congress government was seeking to challenge the Supreme Court of India and the authority of Parliament through resolutions passed by the J&K Assembly. Sharma stressed that an elected government of J&K could not claim powers superior to the constitutional institutions of the Union of India.
Sham Sharma said that the NC-Congress government was attempting to overrun its constitutional domain and challenge the authority of Parliament and the Supreme Court, while using the Assembly to revive issues concerning autonomy, separate identity and the pre-1953 arrangement, which, he said, posed a serious danger to the sovereignty and integrity of the nation.
He said the BJP had a clear and unequivocal commitment to restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir at the appropriate time. However, he alleged that the resolution moved by the NC-led government was not confined to the legitimate demand for statehood and instead sought to bring back issues concerning autonomy, separate identity and the pre-1953 arrangement.
BJP MLA said that although the autumn session of the J&K Assembly was progressing, the proceedings had, according to him, not been conducted properly by the government and the Chair right from the first day.
He alleged that the government was presently on the backfoot because of its failures and that the Speaker was attempting to provide a “safe passage” to the government instead of ensuring the proper functioning and sanctity of the House.
Sharma said the government was trying to create an issue out of thin air to divert attention from the basic issues concerning the people. He asserted that the BJP was committed to pursuing positive politics and standing firmly with the people of Jammu and Kashmir. He said the BJP would continue to raise the issues of the masses before the government and work towards finding the best possible solutions for the people.
Referring to the developments witnessed over the past several days, Sham Sharma said that the NC government on Friday had once again displayed what he described as its “old mentality and old agenda.”
He said that the National Conference had once again revealed the agenda associated with its earlier political history, referring specifically to its antecedent as the Muslim Conference and accused the NC of attempting to give “rebirth” to the politics of death and destruction in Jammu and Kashmir.
He alleged that the established rules and framework governing the proceedings were not followed as the Chief Minister placed resolution before the House. “The Speaker has a responsibility to maintain the sanctity of the House and uphold the rule book, rather than permitting the government to proceed in a manner that compromised parliamentary procedure,” he maintained.
Sharma made it clear that the coalition government in J&K led by the National Conference was not supreme to the Parliament of India and could not place itself above the Supreme Court of India. He described the attempt as an act of “utterly irrational” on the part of the Chief Minister and the Speaker and said the Speaker could have avoided the situation by maintaining the sanctity and dignity of the House.
Sham Sharma also held the Congress equally responsible, alleging that it was supporting and participating in what he described as the “utter foolishness” of the NC-led government. He accused the Congress of being “hand in gloves” with the National Conference in the entire episode.
The BJP leader demanded a clear answer from the Congress leadership in Jammu and Kashmir as well as from the national leadership of the Congress, stating that both were answerable not only to the people of J&K but also to the people of India for their position on the resolution and its references to earlier autonomy-related resolutions.
Sham Sharma accused the NC-led government of playing spoilsport on the issue of statehood, alleging that while it spoke about statehood, its actual political approach was aimed at seeking privileges and arrangements linked to an earlier constitutional framework.
He said the BJP would not allow the people of J&K to be taken back to what he described as the “dark ages” in the garb of a statehood demand.
He further said that the government had mentioned “nefarious designs” of an independent or autonomous region under the garb of statehood and warned that such an approach, in his words, would be detrimental to the sovereignty and integrity of India and could once again disturb peace and stability in Jammu and Kashmir.
He said the BJP supported restoration of statehood through the appropriate constitutional process, but would strongly oppose any attempt to use the issue to revive demands for autonomy, separate identity or a pre-1953 arrangement.
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