New Delhi: If there is one thing Delhi never runs short of, it is political theatre. On Monday, it added an auto-rickshaw to the cast. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was seen squeezing into an auto with colleagues after, he said, they were stopped from reaching Jantar Mantar, where the National Conference was protesting for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.
Videos posted by Abdullah showed him inside the green-and-yellow three-wheeler, clutching protest placards while one colleague occupied the front seat beside the driver as the unlikely political convoy buzzed through Delhi traffic.
“My walk from Jantar Mantar was about to turn into another procession so we grabbed the first available means of transport,” he tweeted in the afternoon.
My walk from Jantar Mantar was about to turn into another procession so we grabbed the first available means of transport 🛺. pic.twitter.com/R8mtp3hk5X
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) July 20, 2026
Earlier, he had alleged that protesters were prevented from reaching the venue.
“We were stopped from getting to Jantar Mantar & stopped from protesting peacefully for what is rightfully ours but we were not silenced. This is only the beginning of our struggle for statehood, our rights, our dignity and everything that was taken away from us,” he wrote.
We were stopped from getting to Jantar Mantar & stopped from protesting peacefully for what is rightfully ours but we were not silenced. This is only the beginning of our struggle for statehood, our rights, our dignity and everything that was taken away from us. pic.twitter.com/tSMwtPLmqI
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) July 20, 2026
The protest, led by National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, comes nearly seven years after Jammu and Kashmir lost its special status under Article 370 and was bifurcated into two Union Territories. The party says the Centre has yet to honour its repeated assurance to restore statehood.
Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary, at the protest, questioned how long the Centre’s “appropriate time” for restoring statehood would take, reminding the BJP of promises made in Parliament, before the Supreme Court and to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Abdullah himself had almost skipped the demonstration.
On Saturday, citing heavy rain and flash-flood warnings across Jammu, he announced he would return to the Union Territory to monitor the situation while his father, the 90-year-old Farooq Abdullah, would lead the protest in Delhi.
Later, sharing a picture of his father at Jantar Mantar, Omar wrote: “Here is a 90-year-old man leading from the front for J&K’s rights & dignity while some others sit at home posting tweets.”
Here is a 90 year old man leading from the front for J&K’s rights & dignity while some others sit at home posting tweets. https://t.co/T8IPKSmU4c
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) July 20, 2026
The auto ride unfolded against a characteristically chaotic Delhi backdrop. Thousands supporting the Cockroach Janata Party also marched towards Parliament from Jantar Mantar today demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over the NEET paper leak, leading to diverted roads, closed Metro stations and traffic snarls stretching across the capital.