Srinagar, Aug 09 (KINS): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has expressed disappointment over the delay in restoring statehood to the Union Territory, saying the issue has affected not only the Narendra Modi government but also mainstream political leaders, including himself.
“There’s a sense of disappointment and it’s not limited to the Modi government. It translates to all of us in the mainstream, more so to me because I’m at the top of that pyramid,” Omar told journalist Karan Thapar in an interview with The Wire, while responding to a question about the delay in statehood.
Political parties in Jammu and Kashmir have intensified their demand for restoration of statehood since the erstwhile state was reorganised into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh following the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.
The National Conference (NC) also held a protest in New Delhi last month, demanding the restoration of statehood.
Omar said he was aware that he had “spent significant political capital over the past 18-20 months”, as he believed that a good working relationship and understanding with the Union Government would help secure what had been promised.
“I put a huge amount of my own political credibility at stake for this. I know for a fact that I’ve eroded a large part of it. It is a price that I was willing to pay, but I do understand that I’ve paid it. So, the anger, the disappointment is not just about the Modi government. Believe me, I am facing it as well,” he said.
Questioning the Centre’s reference to restoring statehood at an “appropriate time”, Omar said there was no clear explanation of what that timeframe meant.
“Nobody has sat us down and told us what the appropriate time will be or how to assess or measure that appropriate time…I mean it’s like running a marathon and instead of completing it in 42 km every time you reach near the finishing line, they keep shifting the finishing line.”
Omar also criticised the governance structure of a Union Territory with an elected Assembly, saying it limits the powers of the elected government.
“There was no worse form of governance than a UT with an Assembly. Please, by all means, have union territories, but don’t give them assemblies,” he said.
He pointed out that his Cabinet did not have the authority to select even its own administrative secretaries or appoint an advocate general.(KINS)
“There was no worse form of Governance than a UT with an Assembly”: Omar on J&K Statehood Restoration
