The TMC delegation on a visit to Jammu and Kashmir said on Thursday that the statehood aspirations of the local government and people should be fully restored and empowered.
A five-member delegation of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) called on Chief Minister Omar Abdullah at his residence immediately after arriving here on Thursday evening.
“We believe that statehood is a legitimate aspiration of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. We firmly believe that statehood must be fully restored to Jammu and Kashmir,” said TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose, who is a part of the delegation. She said her party believes in the principle of federalism. “The federal principle is ingrained in our Constitution and, therefore, to empower an elected government is an article of faith for us, a legitimate aspiration of the people,” she said.
“We are fully in support of the elected government of Jammu and Kashmir, and we believe that the elected government of Jammu and Kashmir must be the empowered agency to look after the welfare and well-being of the people of Kashmir,” she added. She added that the delegation spent more than an hour and a half with UT chief minister Omar Abdullah.
“We had a very good meeting. He told us in detail what the problems are of the people in border villages — Poonch, Rajouri, and Uri. More people died in the cross-border shelling from Pakistan than in the Pahalgam terror attack,” she said. While speaking about the population living near the border areas, she added, people in the border villages are addressed on an urgent basis.
“The chief minister has promised us that his government was doing everything possible to give medical help, rebuild schools and colleges, and provide compensation. We also believe that the government of Abdullah must be fully empowered,” Ghose said. The delegation is currently visiting Poonch to meet the families affected by cross-border shelling.
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