Omar Abdullah attacks the Centre over the restoration of full statehood, says they are demanding their right, not begging.
Srinagar. Political conflict has intensified over the demand for restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. After the resolution related to restoration of full statehood was passed in the Assembly, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah targeted the BJP led government at the Center and said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir are not begging but are demanding their rights. He also raised questions on linking restoration of statehood with the condition of ending terrorism.
Omar Abdullah said in the Assembly that if the decision to give back statehood to Jammu and Kashmir would depend on whether terrorism is completely ended or not, it would mean that the key to the decision would not be in India’s hands. He questioned whether Jammu and Kashmir will forever be deprived of statehood if cross-border terrorism or violence continues. He described it as a situation of indirectly giving Pakistan influence on the constitutional future of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Chief Minister said that statehood is the democratic and constitutional right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. According to him, it would not be right to link it to any external situation or security related condition. He urged the Center to fulfill the promises made earlier regarding giving full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Monday passed a resolution demanding restoration of full statehood. The proposal was introduced in the House by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. During this, there was a heated argument between the ruling party and BJP MLAs in the House. The BJP objected to the language of the resolution and its reference to the autonomy resolution of 2000 and subsequently walked out of the House.
The BJP says it is not against returning statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, but it should not be linked to the restoration of Article 370 or the constitutional status before August 2019. The BJP MLAs made it clear that they support restoration of statehood, but will oppose any efforts involving the return of special status or the old autonomy structure.
In his reply, Omar Abdullah linked statehood to people’s rights and democratic representation. He said that assembly elections have been held and the elected government is working in Jammu and Kashmir. In such a situation, the process of giving back statehood should move forward.
Omar Abdullah has been reminding the central government of its old assurances for a long time. While presenting the resolution in the Assembly, he had also mentioned the public assurances made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding restoration of statehood. He said that this is not an ordinary political demand, but a promise made by the Center to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Several amendments were also introduced during the debate on the proposal in the Assembly. Some of these amendments were related to the special constitutional status before August 2019 and issues like Articles 370 and 35A. BJP raised maximum objection on these references. However, the main theme of the resolution was the demand for restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
The statehood of Jammu and Kashmir ended in August 2019. At that time, the Central Government had divided the then state into two union territories—Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh—under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act. Since then, restoration of full statehood has been included in the major political demands of the state.
The National Conference has been continuously raising this issue. The party says that despite having an elected government, in the current system of the Union Territory, many important administrative powers remain with the Lieutenant Governor and the Central Government. For this reason, the party is calling the restoration of full statehood as necessary from both political and administrative point of view.
Omar Abdullah gave the sharpest reaction to the argument linking terrorism and statehood. He said that it is the responsibility of the government and security agencies to improve the security situation, but the democratic rights of an area cannot depend on the security situation for an indefinite period.
He raised the question that if a neighboring country or terrorist organization is successful in continuing the violence, should it indirectly get the power to decide when Jammu and Kashmir will get statehood. In this context, while mentioning Pakistan, he asked whether the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir would be decided by the behavior of Islamabad.
On the other hand, BJP leaders say that issues like state security, terrorism and stability cannot be ignored. The party has also said that the central government is committed to peace, development and prosperity in Jammu and Kashmir. The BJP leadership did not oppose the principle of restoration of full statehood, but objected to the National Conference adding the old autonomy reference to the proposal.
At present, after the passing of the resolution in the Assembly, the demand for restoration of statehood has once again intensified the political debate between the Center and the Jammu and Kashmir government. Omar Abdullah has made it clear that his government will continue to raise the issue as a matter of right, while the BJP has described statehood and restoration of special constitutional provisions as separate issues.