SRINAGAR — Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday admitted that his initial optimism for the restoration of statehood is “diminishing” by the day as the process drags on, saying that the prolonged wait is inevitably chipping away at his faith.
However, the chief minister said that despite the decrease in optimism after a year, he was still hopeful that statehood would be restored to J&K.
“I was hopeful from the first day. My hopefulness has decreased a little. But it is still there,” Abdullah told reporters after the second day of the ongoing assembly session.
“But the more this process continues, it is obvious, it is human nature, the hopefulness will decrease, not increase. The more you make us wait, the less hopeful we will be. But it has only been a year, there is still hope. It is good to be hopeful,” he said.
When asked about his next step if statehood was not restored, Abdullah said, “Let’s get to that point first. We will talk then.” The chief minister refused to comment on a report which claimed that he would resign if statehood was not restored to J&K within a finite timeline.
“I am not going to say anything about that. I have nothing more to say on that…” he said.
The chief minister went on to underscore the difficulties of governance in a Union Territory (UT) setup, arguing that the desire for statehood is rooted in tangible administrative obstacles.
“If there were no obstacles in governance in a UT setup, am I mad to seek statehood? If it were easy in a UT, then all states would have sought to be a UT,” he asserted, pointing to the dichotomy where he is accountable to the assembly, but does not control key administrative postings.
“The department is under me, and I have to answer before the House, but the officer in the department is not of my choice… There are several institutions which should have been under the control of the elected government, but are still not with us,” he said.
Abdullah also took a swipe at the BJP, whose 28 MLAs in the assembly have remained ambiguous on the statehood issue. He said that efforts to force a debate on the matter had been blocked by the assembly speaker saying the matter is sub-judice.
“I know where I stand on the statehood issue; if a resolution for restoration of statehood comes, I know which way we will vote. But we have a party with 28 MLAs about which we have no idea what they think about statehood. They sought votes on statehood, but the Centre did not restore it,” he said, lamenting a bar on the discussion.
He also noted that the UT government’s operational “business rules” were still awaiting clearance from the Centre, despite being framed under the existing Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act of 2019.
“A couple of rounds of discussions have taken place between our officers and the Centre. They have raised some questions, but we told them that the business rules we have sent are under the JK Reorganisation Act. We have not gone out of the Act; these rules should be approved,” he said.
Addressing other issues, Abdullah slammed the decision to invoke the Public Safety Act (PSA) against AAP MLA Mehraj Malik, calling it “unjustified”.
He questioned the double standard, asking, “We have a Union minister who branded the entire Muslim community disloyal. If he got away with it, what wrong did Mehraj Malik do?”
Abdullah also countered criticism from BJP MLAs suggesting his government was neglecting flood-affected Hindu-majority areas of Jammu.
“The BJP is under the wrong impression that we govern like they do,” he said, citing the BJP’s lack of a single Muslim member in the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha.
“We will decide after assessing the losses, not on the basis of region or religion. We will seek a package as per losses, and as soon as we get the money, it will be distributed,” he added.
Regarding the Budgam bypolls, the chief minister acknowledged internal party dynamics were complicating the contest, but expressed hope that voters would “make the right choice”.
He said any bye-election is a challenge for a government and this challenge is multiplied by the complexities of the voter distribution in Budgam.
“It is also multiplied by some element of internal politics that is playing out. That said, I am hopeful that the people of Budgam will make the right choice,” he said.
Without naming estranged party MP Aga Ruhullah, a three-time former MLA from Budgam, Abdullah said if Budgam is less developed, those representing the constituency are responsible for it.
“People usually say the nearer Budgam is to Srinagar, the less its development has been. We want to correct that. Budgam has been represented, but it has not been developed. The people responsible for that are those who have represented Budgam for so many years. But, it is okay if they could not do it; we will do it,” he added.
On criticism of his government by Anatnag-Rajouri MP Mian Altaf Ahmad, the chief minister said he respected the advice of the veteran party colleague.
However, Abdullah dismissed suggestions that both Ruhullah and Ahmad seem to be on a common platform saying “who are you bringing on the same platform? There is a vast difference between the two.”
He expressed respect for veteran colleague Ahmad’s advice, calling him a “father figure”.
“I respect Altaf a lot. He is a senior leader of the NC. After reading his statement, I talked to him over the phone. He has said from the chair I am sitting on, I should make statements after thinking them through.
“My father also tells me the same. So, that way, there is no difference between my father and Mian sahib, and I see him as a father figure. He is my senior colleague; his advice is respected,” he said. — (PTI)