DC Edit | J&K statehood can’t be delayed too long

Prime Minister Narendra Modi opening the Sonamarg tunnel along the Srinagar-Leh highway earlier this week was a major milestone in meeting the demands of the people of Jammu and Kashmir for better connectivity but Mr Modi’s equivocal response to the clamour for the restoration of statehood to the Union territory does not square with the claims he has made on his commitment to democratic principles.

Stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its statehood was an arbitrary act on the part of the Union government, which also abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution that linked India with Jammu and Kashmir. The “temporary article” is a relic of the past and hence needed to go but the route taken by the government to accomplish it remains questionable.

The government displayed worse disdain towards democratic and federal principles when it revoked the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir. That the acts passed judicial muster is no excuse. The pains the apex court took to justify the way Article 370 was hollowed out and its action of looking the other way when called upon to adjudicate on the revocation of statehood will remain bad patches in its own history. It is nothing but a disservice done by itself to the people of Jammu and Kashmir and the Constitution.

The Union government should not take such silence from the courts and the muted references made by Jammu and Kashmir’s chief minister Omar Abdullah towards the very genuine demand for the restoration of statehood for granted. It is not a favour the government is doing to the people there; it is under obligation to do so. The government had assured the Supreme Court about its plans when directed by it to act as soon as possible. The Prime Minister and Union home minister Amit Shah have reiterated their commitment to fulfil this agenda on several occasions as well.

It is not that the Union government is turning its back on the demand; the Prime Minister, in response to the gentle reminder by Mr Abdullah, did comment that the Union government “will do the right thing at the right time”. “Take it for sure. This is Modi who makes a promise and fulfils it too,” the Prime Minister has been quoted. But the tone of his speech was not exactly that of a ruler in a democracy.

Mr Abdullah has repeatedly complained about his limitations as the chief minister of a Union territory in meeting the promises he had made to the people. At the same time, he has consistently and conscientiously taken a non-confrontational attitude towards the Union government on the matter. It is possible that he could progressively come under pressure from various groups who are waiting for a chance to undermine democracy in Jammu and Kashmir and its elected CM. As he has walked more than half the distance in a possible deal with the Union government, the latter should not now force him to walk further. Jammu and Kashmir needs a healing touch, and the governments at both the Centre and the state must back each other in providing them.