Former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah on Thursday said Jammu and Kashmir stayed with India during the partition because Mahatma Gandhi said it is a country for all and never sought independence.
Mr Abdullah, who heads the National Conference, further said that communal division is on the rise in the country.
"You must realise that we are a Muslim-majority state in a Hindu-majority India. What drew us to India? The only thing that brought us here was Gandhi and his utterances that this nation is for all irrespective of language and culture. We are one nation," he said.
"Kashmir never asked for independence; we are part of this nation," he said, adding that it has been in turmoil since independence. "Delhi has played its game and it continues to play its game. It was the same in (Jawaharlal) Nehru's time, it is the same today."
The National Conference chief was speaking at an event in Delhi where the current issues pertaining to Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh were discussed.
"Whether one believes or not, the fact is we need to speak to Pakistan. If we don't, infiltration will not stop and many of us who stand with the nation will die. Any tragedy between India and Pakistan affects the Muslims in India in a great manner. Who are you to decide if I'm Pakistani or Indian," Mr Abdullah lamented.
The former chief minister was joined by other Opposition leaders who demanded elections to be held in Jammu and Kashmir and highlighted the trust deficit between central and Kashmiri leaders.
Sitaram Yechury of CPM said the idea of India is being destroyed in Jammu and Kashmir. "Equality is being assaulted today. You can see what is happening in Manipur," he added.
Referring to government claims about normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Yechury questioned why elections were still not being held in the state. "This must be treated as abnormal. Elections should be held immediately," he said.
Former MLA MY Tarigami said the centre took credit for holding the panchayat elections after the removal of its special status, but is not holding polls for electing an assembly even though the delimitation exercise is over. "Delimitation process is over. Without getting elected, they are ruling," he said.
The special status of Jammu and Kashmir was revoked on August 5, 2019 and the erstwhile state was bifurcated into two Union territories, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Ladakh politician Sajjad Hussain Kargili highlighted the series of protests going on in Ladakh, which became a Union Territory without legislature after the abrogation of Article 370, questioning how the center can take away statehood from any state.
"How can they take away statehood when they can't give statehood. This was totally unconstitutional. Today, the people of Ladakh are on the streets. Ladakh was the only place in India where there used to be no protests, but now it's happening every day," he said.
Congress's Shashi Tharoor extended support to the demands for holding elections in Jammu and Kashmir and said it is shameful that elections have not been held in the erstwhile state for nine years.
He also stressed on the need for humanitarian approach in the search and cordon operations and raised concern over the increase in the number of deaths of security personnel.
The leaders released a report on the five years that J&K did not have an elected administration and the human rights situation there. The forum included former Union home secretary GK Pillai and Radha Kumar, one of the former interlocutors in Jammu and Kashmir, besides retired Supreme Court judges and Chief Justices of High Courts and retired bureaucrats.
