New Delhi: The Rashtra Manch, a political working group set up by former Union minister Yashwant Sinha, on Wednesday demanded that PM Narendra Modi in his Independence Day address announce that full statehood for Jammu and Kashmir will be restored by the end of the year. The forum said it was deeply concerned about the situation after the Central government's "questioning action" on August 5, 2019.

State that the Central Government had on August 5, 2019, struck down the provisions of Section 370 of the Constitution granting special statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and divided the state into two Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The National Forum said, 'These actions, and the undemocratic steps taken by them, have created a deep sense of hurt, humiliation, and betrayal in the minds of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.'

Shahid Siddiqui and Sudhindra Kulkarni are the conveners of this Rashtra Manch. The organization claimed that the employment of millions of youth has gone away and there has been a worrying increase in the incidents of suicide among the youth. The Rashtra Manch also alleged that all the arguments made by the government to justify its harsh actions and all promises to create a 'new Jammu and Kashmir' have proved to be "hollow".

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