Srinagar, Sep 28 (NVI) The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Monday saw clashes between the ruling National Conference (NC) and the opposition BJP members as the House held a debate on a resolution seeking restoration of Statehood.
Significantly, the resolution, moved by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, called for restoration of Statehood for Jammu and Kashmir in tune with the Autonomy resolution of the year 2000.
“In addition to the resolutions passed by this House on 26, June 2000 and 6 November, 2024, the House calls upon the Government of India for the immediate and urgent restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and resolves that this resolution be forwarded to the Government of India,” the resolution read.
On June 26, 2000, the Assembly, with National Conference in brute majority, passed a resolution which sought greater autonomy as it existed before August 9, 1953.
The government in J&K then was headed by Farooq Abdullah, father of Omar Abdullah.
On November 6, 2024, the House passed a resolution seeking the restoration of special status.
Omar Abdullah, while moving the Statehood resolution on Monday, said the people of Jammu and Kashmir were not seeking any favour but demanding restoration of their constitutional and democratic rights.
He said the demand for restoration of full statehood was rooted in the rights and constitutional status of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. “We are not begging. We have been humiliated,” the chief minister said.
Abdullah said restoration of statehood was necessary to bring back the institutional powers and constitutional position that Jammu and Kashmir enjoyed when it was a full-fledged state.
He said an elected government should have the powers, authority and responsibilities associated with a state government, and asserted that the issue had a direct bearing on the functioning of democratic institutions in the Union Territory.
The chief minister urged legislators to support the resolution seeking restoration of full statehood, describing it as an important issue concerning the political and administrative status of Jammu and Kashmir.
The debate witnessed sharp exchanges between treasury and opposition benches, with members raising objections over the wording, references and timing of the resolution.
BJP members also protested during the proceedings, leading to disruptions in the House as the discussion continued.
The resolution seeking restoration of full statehood has emerged as a key issue during the ongoing Assembly session, with members expressing divergent views on the administrative and constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir.
The proceedings continued amid heated exchanges and protests as legislators debated the statehood demand and its implications for the functioning of the elected government.—(NVI)
