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J&K statehood push on Day 1, says Omar

ByAshiq Hussain
Oct 10, 2024 05:00 AM IST

Abdullah also said that a legislative party meeting of the NC will be held on Thursday followed by talks with allies

The first business of the National Conference-Congress government in Jammu & Kashmir should be to pass a resolution in the cabinet seeking the restoration of statehood, NC vice-president Omar Abdullah said on Wednesday, a day after his alliance won a thumping mandate in the Union territory’s first assembly elections.

Abdullah expressed hope that the government in Jammu & Kashmir will be able to run smoothly. (HT Photo)
Abdullah expressed hope that the government in Jammu & Kashmir will be able to run smoothly. (HT Photo)

Abdullah, who is widely seen as the next chief minister of the region, said hoping for the restoration of Article 370, which bestowed special status to the region but was scrapped by the Centre in 2019, from the very people who snatched it would be “foolish,” but added that his party would keep the issue alive and continue to raise it.

“After the formation of the government, I hope in the first cabinet meeting, the cabinet will pass a resolution impressing upon the Centre to restore the statehood. The government should then take that resolution to the prime minister,” Abdullah told reporters here.

He expressed hope that the government in Jammu & Kashmir will be able to run smoothly.

“There is a difference between us and Delhi. Delhi was never a state. No one promised Delhi a statehood. Jammu and Kashmir was a state before 2019. We have been promised the restoration of statehood by the prime minister, the home minister and other senior ministers who have said that three steps will be taken in J&K -“ delimitation, election and then statehood.

Read more: Jammu and Kashmir election results: Who won with the highest and lowest margins?

He was referring to the statement by Union home minister Amit Shah in Kashmir in 2021 when he had said that delimitation in Jammu and Kashmir will be followed by elections and restoration of statehood, as he had visited the Valley for the first time since Article 370 was revoked in 2019.

“Delimitation has happened, the elections have now taken place as well. So, only the statehood remains which should be restored,” he added.

He was speaking a day after the NC posted its best results in a generation as it swept the Valley and picking up a smattering of seats in Jammu. It won 42 of the Union Territory’s 90 seats, recording an impressive strike rate of 75%. Its alliance partner, the Congress, picked up six seats. Together, the alliance appeared comfortably placed to cross the majority mark of 46 and even build a cushion in case the lieutenant governor nominated five more legislators with voting rights – a development that would push the halfway mark to 48.

Abdullah also said that a legislative party meeting of the NC will be held on Thursday followed by talks with allies, the Congress and CPI (M), to decide on the leader of the alliance and government formation.

“Whichever chief minister is sworn in the next few days, obviously there will be two sets of priorities, one is legislative that will be determined by members of legislative assembly when the session is called and the other is government related,” he said.

The NC legislators will be sitting down on Thursday for a meeting.

“First and foremost, wait for the legislative party meeting. Subsequently, there will obviously be an alliance meeting which will decide on the leader of the alliance. The leader of the alliance will then assume the letters of support and go to Raj Bhavan to stake a claim and request the LG to fix the date for swearing in,” he told reporters in Srinagar.

“I would like that to happen as soon as possible because we have been without an elected government since 2018. Time has come when we get back to work,” he said.

Congress in-charge of Jammu & Kashmir Bharat Solanki and J&K Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra met Farooq and Omar Abdullah at their Gupkar residence in Srinagar on Wednesday.

Karra said they came to congratulate the father-son duo and there was no talk of government formation yet. “That will happen after they hold their legislative party meeting and then they will talk to alliance partners and discuss letters of support and other things,” he said.

This will be the first elected government after 2018 when governor’s rule was imposed in J&K after the BJP withdrew its support from then chief minister Mehbooba Mufti. This is also going to be the first elected government after the abrogation of Article 370 and the delimitation of seats.

Abdullah reiterated that the new government will be for everybody. “I am also acutely aware of the fact that there is a sharp divide between Kashmir and Jammu. Therefore, the incoming government will have a major responsibility of giving a sense of ownership to the people of Jammu. The government that comes in the next few days will not be the government of NC, of alliance or those that votes for us. It will be a government of every single individual of J&K regardless of who they voted for or whether they voted at all,” he said.

He was referring to the Jammu region voting overwhelmingly for BJP and low turnout in Srinagar in these elections.

He further stressed: “And in that special emphasis will be placed on giving a sense of ownership and a voice within the government to those areas from where MLAs in this coalition will be less in number.”

Abdullah said that his party will continue to work for the restoration of Article 370. “Our political stance won’t change. We never said that we will be silent on Article 370 but we won’t make a fool of people. I have repeatedly said to hope for the return of Article 370 from those who snatched it is foolishness and deceiving people. But we will keep this issue alive and hope the government and system changes in the country, and attain something for J&K by talking to that government,” he said.

NC chief Farooq Abdullah said whatever he decided will happen, hinting at Abdullah will become the next CM. He said that the new government will have to gain the trust of Hindus of Jammu, a region which largely voted for the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The BJP won 29 seats from Jammu division up from 25 seats in 2014 assembly elections.

“We have to reduce the difference which has been created between Jammu and Kashmir divisions. We have to gain the trust of Hindus there (in Jammu) that we will think the same about what we want for Kashmir. We won’t discriminate irrespective of the fact they didn’t vote for us. Our responsibility is to placate their difficulties,” he said.

He said that the biggest governance-related challenge was price rise and unemployment.

“The biggest concern for me is that we are able to fulfil the trust which people reposed in us. The challenges are many. Biggest challenge is the price rise as well as unemployment. Our educated youth are without jobs. We have to find jobs for them,” he said.

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