E-Paper
‘J&K assembly’s first order of business should be…,' says ex-CM Omar Abdullah
Jammu and Kashmir will vote on September 18, 25, and October 1. The counting will be held on October 4.
The first order of business for a newly-elected Jammu and Kashmir assembly, should be to pass a resolution against the Centre's 2019 moves cancelling Article 370, which gave J&K its ‘special status,' and taking away the region's statehood, according to former chief minister Omar Abdullah.
The Union territory's first assembly polls since December 2014, will be held on September 18, 25, and October 1, the Election Commission announced on Friday. Votes will be counted on October 4, as per the poll body.
“The first order of business of the elected assembly should be to make it known not just to the rest of India but to the world at large that the people of J&K don't agree with what happened to us on 5th August 2019, and then we start undoing what was done to us,” the National Conference (NC) vice president, told NDTV.
On this date, the Centre's BJP government, abrogated Article 370 from the Constitution of India and bifurcated Jammu and Kashmir into the Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. The bifurcation came into effect on October 31, 2019.
Abdullah, meanwhile, also called the upcoming elections in Jammu and Kashmir's, its ‘most significant in the last three generations.’
“These are happening when Ladakh is not a part of us. These are taking place after both delimitation and the scrapping of our special status. The results will be far-fetching,” the ex-Union minister, 54, stated.
Amongst the most vocal critics of the Narendra Modi government's Article 370 move, Abdullah also spoke about facing ‘challenges’ in the NC's seat-sharing talks with the Congress.
“Though the door is not closed for an alliance, seat-sharing has its own challenges. We haven't heard from from the Congress after a preliminary round of talks. However, it's not a closed chapter yet,” he noted.
