Statehood not being restored since BJP didn't form govt: Omar Abdullah

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], September 24 (ANI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the delay in the restoration of statehood, saying that it was “unfair” to the people.

Speaking to reporters, Abdullah accused the BJP of delaying and opposing the restoration of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir since it lost the elections.

“People participated in the election process. It is the BJP’s bad luck that they couldn’t win. However, people here can’t be punished for that. It seems like statehood is not being provided to the people since the BJP didn’t form the government. It is unfair to people. It was not stated that statehood will be restored only when the results favour the BJP. The opposition to statehood is coming from the BJP,” CM Abdullah said.

Flagging a delay in the restoration of statehood as the “biggest challenge”, the Jammu and Kashmir CM informed that the statehood has not been restored despite the centre telling the Supreme Court about its three-step process of delimitation, elections and statehood.

“The biggest challenge is that we are not a state anymore. We were hoping for the promises made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The Supreme Court was informed that a three-step process would be implemented: delimitation, followed by elections and statehood. Delimitation and elections happened,” Abdullah said.

“We were hoping that tourism in Kashmir would start again. We were hoping for a tourist influx during and after the Pooja season from states like West Bengal. But that is not happening,” he added.

When asked about the arrests in connection with the ‘I Love Muhammad’ slogan row, the Chief Minister said that “someone” had to be “mentally ill” to make a case over this issue.

“Why would anyone object to it? I don’t understand how writing these three words leads to people getting arrested? This means that someone is genuinely mentally ill for making a case on this. I would like the courts to fix it (intervene). How is it illegal to write ‘I Love Muhammad’? Don’t people from other religions write about their gods? They do. If that is not illegal, how is this labelled as being illegal?” Abdullah said.

The regional parties, along with people in Kashmir, have been constantly demanding the restoration of statehood ever since the abrogation of Article 370.

On 5 August 2019, the centre scrapped Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and bifurcated the erstwhile state into two Union Territories: Jammu and Kashmir (with a legislature) and Ladakh (without a legislature).

The Supreme Court of India, on August 14 this year, heard a plea seeking directions to the Centre for the restoration of statehood to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

The apex court noted that the ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir cannot be ignored while granting statehood and said that the events in Pahalgam cannot be overlooked. (ANI)

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