Srinagar, Sep 25: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday accused the BJP of being the only obstacle to the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, after the party’s MLAs protested against a resolution moved in the Legislative Assembly seeking immediate restoration of statehood.
Today the people of Jammu and Kashmir have seen that if there is any obstacle in our statehood, it is the BJP’s 29 MLAs, CM Omar said after the House was adjourned following uproar between the treasury and Opposition benches over the resolution. The Speaker, Abdul Rahim Rather, adjourned the House for half an hour.
Targeting the Opposition, the Chief Minister said, “They fought the election in the name of statehood. Statehood was a big promise of their manifesto. Our manifesto is being reminded again and again. But they do not remember their own manifesto. Do not abstain. Do not walk out. Do not make noise and vote for the resolution.”
He accused Leader of the Opposition Sunil Sharma of being against the restoration of statehood to the Union Territory.
Jammu and Kashmir was stripped of statehood and Article 370 in August 2019 and bifurcated into two Union Territories, with Ladakh hived off as a separate UT.
The Chief Minister expressed happiness over alliance partner Congress extending support to the resolution, saying there was nothing unconstitutional in it and that it would be sent to the Central government. “Now the only thing that remains to be seen is whether the BJP is part of the voice of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. That will be known when the discussion starts,” he said.
CM Omar said they were not seeking a vote on Article 370, special status or autonomy, as those had already been passed by the House. This fresh resolution does not subsume those resolutions. We are not putting those resolutions up for a vote again. Today we are only seeking a vote on statehood from the BJP, and they are not ready to vote on statehood, he said.
The Chief Minister said the fresh resolution was prompted because the previous resolution passed by his Cabinet was not considered to be the voice of the people. Soon after forming the government in October 2024, the Abdullah-led Cabinet passed a resolution seeking statehood and submitted it to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
He said the demand for statehood was not about the government or a political party but for Jammu and Kashmir. That is why we brought this resolution in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, so that we can call on the Central government to restore statehood in Jammu and Kashmir, Omar said.
Asked why the resolution was being brought now, CM Omar said the government had waited long enough. Because two years is a very long time to make us wait, he said.
He said the Assembly was the appropriate forum because it represented a wider political spectrum than the government or the Council of Ministers. Clearly, the voice of the Cabinet was not considered to be the voice of the people. Therefore, since the legislature represents the entire spectrum of political opinion in Jammu and Kashmir, the Cabinet only represents the ruling party. The legislature represents parties that are not part of the government, CM Omar said.
He said the issue should not be viewed through the lens of the ruling party or his government. Statehood is not about the government. Statehood is not about my family. Statehood is not about a political party or an individual. Statehood is about the entire Jammu and Kashmir, he said.
CM Omar said the resolution was intended to formally convey the Assembly’s demand to the Union government. We want that full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir be restored immediately. We want that this voice go from the Assembly, he added.
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