Resolution demanding restoration of J-K statehood will be passed in first cabinet meet: Omar
Srinagar: National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah said on Wednesday that the NC-Congress coalition government will at its first cabinet meeting pass a resolution demanding the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.
“After the formation of the government, I hope in the first cabinet meeting, a resolution impressing upon the Centre to restore the statehood will be passed,” he told reporters here. He added that the UT government should then take that resolution to the Prime Minister.
He, however, also said that hoping for the restoration of Article 370 from the very people who “snatched” it would be “foolish”. He reiterated that the NC would keep the issue alive and continue to raise it. “Our political stand on abrogation of Articles 370 will not change. We have never said that we will remain silent on Article 370 or that Article 370 is not an issue for us now,” he said.
He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself has promised that the statehood of J&K will be restored and since the elections have been held there should be no further delay in fulfilling that promise. Replying to a question, he said there is a difference between J&K and Delhi as the latter 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, elections and then statehood,” he said.
He said that the NC legislature party will meet in Srinagar on Thursday to start the process of government formation. “I have spoken to NC president Farooq Abdullah Sahab and the party will call a legislative party meeting tomorrow. After that, there will be a meeting of the alliance partners where its leader will be elected and then we will go to the Raj Bhavan to stake the claim for government formation,” he said, adding, “I hope the new government is in place in the next few days”.
Asked if the PDP would be a part of the coalition government, the NC leader said there were no discussions over that as of now. “There has been no approach made to us by the PDP. We have made no approach to them. Given the results of this election, which I think is quite a setback to them, I think, at the moment, I can understand that there must be some internal discussion going on. At some points of time, if a channel of communication opens, we will sit down and talk to them. But it is not a priority for us now,” he said.