Elections in J&K Anytime But Unable to Give Timeline for Statehood, Centre to SC  

New Delhi: Polls could be conducted in Jammu and Kashmir anytime now, the Centre on Thursday told the Supreme Court, adding that the decision to hold elections lies with the Election Commission and the state poll panel.

The Union government came up with this statement during the hearing of petitions challenging the scrapping of Article 370.

During its hearing on Tuesday, the Supreme Court put emphasis on the need to restore democracy in J&K, which has been without an elected government since June 2018.

But the Centre refused to provide a timeframe for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.

Over the last two years, there have been massive protests in Ladakh demanding statehood for the region.

After scrapping Article 370 in August 2019, the Centre said that it would restore statehood at an appropriate time. But no deadline has been set for such a move.