Srinagar, July 11 (NVI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said the restoration of statehood to the Union Territory cannot be made conditional on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) forming the government, and announced that the ruling National Conference (NC) will hold a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on July 20 to press for its demand.
Addressing a gathering at Hazratbal on the 26th death anniversary of Begum Akbar Jehan Abdullah, Omar said the NC had exercised restraint for nearly two years in the hope that the Centre would fulfil its repeated assurances on restoring statehood.
“Our patience should not be mistaken for weakness. We believed the promises made to the people would be honoured. When commitments remain unfulfilled, democratic protest becomes our constitutional right,” he said.
The chief minister alleged that attempts were being made to engineer defections in the National Conference through monetary and political inducements.
He claimed that an NC legislator from the Jammu region was allegedly offered Rs 20-30 crore, a ministerial berth and an assurance of restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood if he quit the party and joined the BJP.
Calling such attempts an insult to the people’s mandate, Omar said they undermined democratic values.
Referring to the Supreme Court proceedings on Article 370, Abdullah said the Centre had outlined a three-step process comprising delimitation, Assembly elections and restoration of statehood.
“Delimitation has been completed and Assembly elections have been held. There is now no justification for delaying the restoration of statehood,” he said.
The chief minister also questioned the role of the elected government if key administrative decisions continued to be taken from the Raj Bhavan.
“If governance continues to remain under the exclusive control of Raj Bhavan, then what was the purpose of holding Assembly elections and forming an elected government?” he asked.
Omar said the issue of statehood had been raised repeatedly with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other Union ministers, but every meeting ended with assurances that it would be restored at an “appropriate time”.
“The people have every right to ask when this appropriate time will come,” he said.
Throwing a challenge to the Centre, Abdullah said if the policy was to restore statehood only after the BJP formed the government in Jammu and Kashmir, it should state so publicly.
“If that is the policy, then the government should openly declare that Jammu and Kashmir will not regain statehood unless the BJP comes to power here,” he said.
He reiterated that the National Conference would continue its peaceful and democratic struggle until Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood is restored.(NVI)
