"Priority that people of J-K and Ladakh get their democratic rights back": LoP Rahul Gandhi

Srinagar: The Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi on Thursday asserted that it was his and his party's duty to ensure that the people of Jammu and Kashmir get their democratic rights back and that statehood is restored.
Addressing a press conference here today, Rahul Gandhi said that it is the priority of both the Congress Party and the INDIA alliance to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir as soon as possible.
"We had expected that this would be done before the elections but elections have been declared. It is a step forward and we are hoping that statehood will be restored as soon as possible and the rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, democratic rights will be restored to them. This is the first time since independence that a state has become a union territory. This has never happened before. Union territories have become states but it is the first time that a State has become Union Territory. So, we are very clear in our national manifesto as well that it is a priority for us that the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh get their democratic rights back," he said.
"My message to the people of Jammu and Kashmir is, however, we can help you, the Congress Party is always there. We understand that you're going through a very difficult period, a tough period, and we want to remove violence," he added.
Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge slammed the Central government and said that the promises made to Jammu and Kashmir were not fulfilled.
"Our party has decided that under the leadership of Rahul Ji, we will restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, and we make this promise. So far, all the Union Territories (UTs) mentioned in the Constitution have been made into states, but Jammu and Kashmir, which was a state, was made into a UT, and today, there is no council, assembly, panchayat, or municipality here. Instead of protecting democracy, it has been dismantled," he said.
"No matter how much BJP and PM Modi try; they cannot suppress the voice of the people. We will stand with the people and strive to fulfil their aspirations," Kharge added.
Rahul Gandhi also visited the residence of National Conference President Farooq Abdullah in Srinagar today. The Congress is expected to ally with the National Conference for the state polls although a formal announcement is yet to be made. The two parties which are part of the INDIA bloc and contested the Lok Sabha elections in alliance.
Polling in Jammu and Kashmir will occur in three phases on September 18, 25, and October 1, with vote counting scheduled for October 4. These will be the first elections held in the region since the abrogation of Article 370.
Jammu and Kashmir will witness elections after a gap of ten years, as the last assembly election was held in 2014.
The PDP-BJP coalition government fell in June 2018 when the latter withdrew support to the then-Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti. In December of last year, the Supreme Court directed the Centre to conclude the election process by September 30, 2024.