New Delhi: The open session of the 13th Jammu & Kashmir State Conference of the CPI(M) was held at the Sitaram Yechury Hall in Jammu on 17 February 2025. Hundreds of people from both the Jammu region and the Kashmir Valley participated with enthusiasm. The session was presided over by veteran leader Om Prakash and inaugurated by Polit Bureau Member and Coordinator Prakash Karat. Polit Bureau Member Dr. Ashok Dhawale and Central Committee Member and five-time MLA Mohd Yousuf Tarigami also addressed the gathering.
All the speakers strongly criticized the BJP-RSS central government for the grave injustices, massive repression, and unprecedented indignities inflicted on the people of Jammu & Kashmir since 5 August 2019. They hailed the victory of the INDIA Bloc and the defeat of the BJP-NDA in the J&K Vidhan Sabha elections. They emphasized that the restoration of statehood and special status for J&K was a fundamental issue for the defense of democracy, which the CPI(M) would take up across the country.
The two-day conference, held on 17-18 February, was attended by 251 delegates, including 8 women. Among them, 219 delegates were from Kashmir and 32 from Jammu. State Secretary Ghulam Nabi Malik presented the report, which was discussed by 13 delegates. After Tarigami’s response, the report was unanimously adopted.
The conference passed the following resolutions:
1. On Democratic Rights and Civil Liberties
2. On Restoration of Statehood
3. On Unemployment
4. On Land Laws
5. Against the New Education Policy (NEP)
6. On Horticulture
7. On the Resettlement and Rehabilitation of Kashmiri Migrants
The conference unanimously elected a 21-member new State Committee, which in turn elected Mohd Abbas as the new State Secretary, as Ghulam Nabi Malik had completed three terms. Additionally, the conference elected four delegates and two observers for the Madurai Party Congress.
In his concluding speech, Prakash Karat congratulated the delegates for their dedication and perseverance in extremely difficult circumstances over the past few years. He urged them to maintain and strengthen secular unity in J&K and to focus on mobilizing mass struggles and building a strong organization in the coming days and years.
