Centre to restore statehood in due course, says Rijiju
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have made it clear that statehood to Jammu and Kashmir will be restored in due course of time.
However, Rijiju, who holds the parliamentary affairs and minority affairs portfolios, declined to give a timeline for the restoration of statehood to the Union Territory. “The prime minister and the home minister made clear indications in the past that in due course of time, statehood will be restored (to Jammu and Kashmir) and the powers and functions will be demarcated very clearly,” Rijiju told reporters here.
The Lok Sabha MP from Arunachal West said he would not like to comment on the timeline for restoration of statehood or division of powers between the lieutenant governor and the elected chief minister at this time as his visit to Kashmir was confined to the Union Budget.
“Therefore, I would not like to venture into the political and governance side… I can only say that Jammu and Kashmir is within the status of a Union Territory at this time. The lieutenant governor is the administrative head of the UT but we have also elected a government. We have a very successful government which was elected very recently,” he said.
On the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, Rijiju claimed that Andhra Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar were on board with the government’s decision.
