July 19, 2025: Farooq Abdullah, former Chief Minister and president of the National Conference, stated on Friday that the restoration of statehood would once more be discussed at the INDIA bloc meeting on Saturday evening.

Abdullah's statement came as the Congress wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday urging him to introduce legislation to give the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir full statehood. Abdullah thanked Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha opposition leader Rahul Gandhi for their letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.

He told reporters, "I welcome Kharge sahib and Rahul Gandhi ji who raised the issue with the Prime Minister." He mentioned that the issue will be brought up once more at the July 19 meeting of all leaders. The Congress on Thursday night announced the INDIA bloc meeting would be held online on Saturday evening.

Friday, Abdullah stated that the restoration of statehood is the people's right. "We will see accordingly" if the BJP does not restore statehood, he said. The former states of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh were divided into two UTs in 2019 as Article 370 was repealed. Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh were the new UTs. The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly was elected last year, and political parties, particularly the National Conference, are now calling for Jammu and Kashmir to regain its statehood.