New Delhi, July 17 -- Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday wrote a letter urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to introduce legislation during Parliament's monsoon session, commencing next week, for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)'s statehood. They sought the inclusion of Ladakh in the Constitution's Sixth Schedule, which provides for the administration of tribal areas through autonomous councils with legislative, executive, judicial, and financial powers, and a degree of self-governance. "We urge the government to introduce legislation in the Monsoon Session to grant full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and extend Sixth Schedule protections to Ladakh. This would address the cultural, developmental, and political aspirations of Ladakh's people while safeguarding their land and identity," said the leaders of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha in the letter, a copy of which HT has seen. "For five years, the people of Jammu and Kashmir have consistently demanded restoration of full statehood. This demand is legitimate and rooted in their constitutional and democratic rights." The two cited instances of Union Territories being upgraded to states. They added that J&K's case is without precedent as a state was downgraded to a Union territory post-bifurcation for the first time. Kharge and Gandhi reminded Modi of his public commitments to restore statehood. "...on May 19, 2024, you said, 'Restoring statehood is a solemn promise we have made.' Again, in Srinagar on September 19, 2024, you said, 'We have said in Parliament that we will restore the region's statehood," they wrote....