Criticising the Union government for delaying granting statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah asked on Sunday if he should approach United States President Donald Trump with his request and hold a demonstration outside the White House, reported The Indian Express.
“Our patience is running out,” the National Conference leader was quoted as saying by The Times of India. “First they said statehood won’t come by raising it in Assembly, then not by protesting in Jammu and Kashmir. Now they say we won’t get it at Jantar Mantar either. Should I go to Donald Trump at White House to seek J&K’s statehood?”
Until the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government clarifies this, we will “hold demonstrations and knock on the doors in our own national capital” to demand the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood, added Omar Abdullah.
The National Conference is slated to hold a protest in New Delhi on the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, seeking that statehood for the Union Territory be restored.
The Monsoon Session of Parliament will be held from July 20 to August 13.
On August 5, 2019, Article 370 of the Constitution – which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir – was abrogated and the erstwhile state was split into two Union Territories: Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir.
In December 2023, the Supreme Court upheld the validity of the 2019 order abrogating Article 370 and ordered the Centre to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
In October, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that statehood would be restored to Jammu and Kashmir at an “appropriate time” after discussions with political stakeholders.
On Saturday, Omar Abdullah asked the Union government to clarify what it means by an “appropriate time”.
“I ask them, for God’s sake, how will we know that the appropriate time has come,” the chief minister had asked. “What do I and my colleagues have to do to reach that appropriate time?”
He also questioned whether the “appropriate time” implies the BJP coming to power in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Have the courage to say it publicly,” said Omar Abdullah. “At least, we will not remain in this deception that you will fulfil the promise.”
Two days before this, his father and National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah urged leaders across political lines to join the party’s protest on July 20.
Farooq Abdullah questioned why the Union government has offered “no timeline” for when statehood will be restored to Jammu and Kashmir.
“This is not merely a delay,” he wrote. “It is an affront to the democratic will of an entire people.”
Edited by Sara Varghese.
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