A day after staging protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday asserted that restoration of statehood remains the National Conference’s foremost priority, declaring that only after statehood is restored, discussions on Jammu and Kashmir’s constitutional guarantees and special status can then meaningfully proceed.
Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, CM Omar Abdullah said the Centre must honour the assurances made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir regarding restoration of statehood, adding that the National Conference would continue its political struggle until the promise is fulfilled. He reiterated statehood was imperative for the eventual restoration of its special status.
He said the press conference was organised by the National Conference and not by the government, adding that the party leadership wanted to directly address the people through the media regarding its ongoing campaign for restoration of statehood.
Omar said the National Conference’s recent programme in New Delhi was aimed solely at reminding the Centre of its commitment on statehood and was not confined to any political party or organisation.“We invited all political parties because this is not an issue of any single party or government. It concerns the entire people of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Taking a swipe at opposition parties, the Chief Minister alleged that instead of supporting the campaign, some political groups attempted to ridicule and weaken the movement.“I am not disappointed by the attitude of the Central Government as much as I am saddened by those who claim to be sympathisers of Jammu and Kashmir but choose to remain silent at crucial moments,” he said.
Referring to repeated criticism from political opponents over Article 370, Omar said the debate deliberately ignored the importance of restoring statehood first.“What is the meaning of Article 370 without statehood?” he asked. "Statehood protest in Delhi was just the beginning and not the end," the National Conference (NC) leader said.He sought to reassure the people of Jammu and Kashmir that the party remained committed to promises it had made.
“If there is no state, where is the State List? Without statehood, everything remains under the Union List. Therefore, statehood is the foundation. Once that foundation is restored, we can move towards discussions on constitutional guarantees,” he said.
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