01-05-2023: Farooq Abdullah, the president of the National Conference (NC), criticized the Indian government for not holding G20 meetings in Jammu and opposing the settlement of non-locals in the region. He expressed disappointment that G20 meetings were scheduled in Ladakh and Kashmir, but not in Jammu, suggesting that the government has taken Jammu for granted. Abdullah claimed that the Dogra identity, a reference to the dominant ethnic group in Jammu, is under threat and that settling non-locals in the region would cause demographic changes that would cause the identity to disappear. He argued that the late Maharaja Hari Singh, the last Dogra ruler, wanted to preserve the culture and identity of Jammu and Kashmir, as evidenced by his support for the state subject law in 1927.
Abdullah also criticized the government’s recent public notice issued by the Jammu and Kashmir Housing Board that sought online applications from people who have migrated to Jammu temporarily or permanently for allotment of flats under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) Mission. He claimed that this notice is evidence of the demographic change that the NC has been warning about and that settling outsiders in Jammu will cause locals to lose their land and jobs. Abdullah argued that terrorism is still present in Jammu and Kashmir, despite the BJP’s claims that it had been eradicated with the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. He expressed regret over the killing of five soldiers in a terrorist attack on an army truck in the Poonch district and supported the rights of casual and need-based workers seeking regularization.