Omar Abdullah said the delay in restoring Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood has triggered anger and hurt his credibility. He urged the Centre to set a clear timeline, saying the Union territory arrangement is unworkable.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday expressed deep frustration over the delay in the restoration of statehood to the Union territory, saying the issue has led to widespread anger and disappointment. He said the discontent is not directed only at the PM Modi government, and added that he himself has lost a “huge amount” of political credibility because of the delay.
In an interview, Abdullah said he had tried to build a constructive working relationship with the Union government in the hope of securing the early return of statehood. He said that approach had come at a political cost, and urged the Centre to clearly spell out the conditions and timeline for restoring statehood.
“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,” Abdullah said. “I will pay the price for sins that are not mine, and again, I will carry that cross because it’s mine to bear,” he added.
Criticising the Centre’s position that statehood would be restored at an “appropriate time”, Abdullah said the process had become like a shifting finish line. “It’s like running a marathon. Instead of completing it in 42 km, every time you reach near the finishing line, they keep shifting it,” he said. He called on the Centre to define clear parameters so that his administration has a concrete goal.
Abdullah also rejected the argument made in some quarters that statehood cannot be restored until terrorism is fully eradicated. He said his elected government has no control over the security apparatus in Jammu and Kashmir. “The problem with this argument is that you’re effectively punishing a government that has no role in this. Militancy does not exist in Jammu and Kashmir because there’s an elected government. In fact, we have absolutely nothing to do with the anti-terror mechanism that is in place in J-K right now,” he said.
He said such an argument effectively shifts the decision outside India. “You are effectively saying that when Pakistan stops sponsoring terror, you will restore statehood – effectively transferring the decision from our capital to Islamabad,” he said.
Highlighting what he called administrative paralysis under the Union territory arrangement, Abdullah described a Union territory with an Assembly as an “abomination”. He said institutions such as the JK Power Development Corporation and the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences remain under the lieutenant governor’s control. “There is no worse form of government than a Union territory with an Assembly. Please, by all means, have Union territories, but don’t give them assemblies,” he said, adding that his Cabinet cannot even choose its own administrative secretaries or appoint an advocate general.
Responding to criticism that he has softened his stand on Article 370, Abdullah said statehood must come first because it is a legal prerequisite for any division of constitutional powers. “Article 370 was basically the division of powers between the Union government and the state government. How can you have a state list when you are not a state? Statehood has to come before (Article) 370 can be restored,” he said.
Abdullah also referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public commitment on the issue, saying the prime minister had personally backed the promise during visits to the region. “The prime minister put his personal credibility behind it. He said the restoration of statehood is not just any other promise, it’s a ‘Modi Ka Wada’. Obviously, he holds that promise to a higher standard, giving it greater weightage,” he said.
