Srinagar, July 7 -- The ruling National Conference (NC) is gearing its protest to demand statehood, at Jantar Mantar scheduled for July 20-first day of monsoon session. "We have already started preparations for the Delhi protest. It's going to be a protest by legislators, but senior leaders can also join. The party is already working on the program as a series of meetings are being held by the senior leadership," said Baramulla legislator Javed HassanBaig. Party president Farooq Abdullah has been holding a series of meetings with legislators and senior leaders on a daily basis to make the protest successful. He has also written letters to INDIA bloc partners seeking their support for the statehood protest at Jantar Mantar. Party is also planning to hold rallies in Srinagar and Jammu over the weekend, the party leaders informed. J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah and NC president Farooq Abdullah, along with senior leaders, are expected to address these rallies. The decision regarding the July 20 protest was taken during a party meeting held in Srinagar last month. "We have been waiting for the promise of statehood for the past 18 months. Now we have decided to hold protests for our rights. Our budget and the budget of Ladakh are almost the same. We were a state and our requirements are also as big as a state. But even after waiting for 18 months, the statehood promised by the Government of India has not been fulfilled," said deputy chief minister Surinder Choudhary in Jammu. "Our legislators and those of alliance partners, and others who want J&K to be a state, should join the protest in Delhi on the first day of the monsoon session. The NC will be holding big programs in Srinagar and Jammu on July 11 and 12," he said. Since coming to power in 2024, this will be the first time that NC legislators will hold a protest in New Delhi for statehood. The Congress J&K unit had already held a protest last year for statehood restoration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, but the NC did not join that protest. So far, the NC has not sent invitations to opposition leaders in J&K....