Hope for J&K’s statehood restoration fading: Omar Abdullah

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said optimism over the restoration of statehood was gradually fading, warning that further delays could erode whatever hope remains among the people.

Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, Omar said he had been optimistic from the beginning, but the continued uncertainty was dampening that sentiment. “My hopefulness has come down a little, but it is still there. The more this process drags on, it is human nature that hope will diminish, not increase. The longer you make us wait, the less hopeful we will be,” he said.

He, however, added that since only a year had passed since the government formation, “there is still hope,” and it would be best if statehood was restored while that hope remained alive.

Responding to a question about the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Omar urged the poll body not to rush the process. “Let the election in Bihar conclude first, and then we can see whether the SIR was really beneficial or not. The Election Commission should not be in a hurry, otherwise it will appear that it is losing its independence and working under the pressure of a political party. We have seen this before,” he said.

To another question, the Chief Minister said he had no objection if any legislator sought to move a resolution on statehood. “We wanted to talk about statehood in the House. But the Speaker is the custodian of the House. There is a group of 28 members about whose views on statehood we are still unsure. They sought votes on the promise of statehood,” he said.

Omar 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.

On business rules and Centre’s queries, Omar said discussions had taken place between J&K officers and the Centre. “Some questions have been raised from their side, but we have made it clear that the business rules we submitted were framed under the J&K Reorganisation Act. We haven’t worked outside the provisions of that Act. These rules should be approved,” he said.

Speaking on NC–BJP relations, Omar dismissed allegations of any secret understanding, adding the National Conference (NC) was the only party confronting the BJP directly on the ground.

“At the end of the day, the only party taking the BJP head-on in J&K is the National Conference. We challenged them in the Rajya Sabha elections; no one else did. The Congress could have fielded a candidate but chose not to,” he said.

Referring to the Nagrota contest, Omar said, “Where are the candidates from other parties? Where is the PDP’s candidate? The Congress told us at the last minute they wouldn’t contest, so we had to scramble to find one. Otherwise, we were ready to support Congress in Nagrota.”

He asserted that the NC conducts its politics transparently. “These baseless claims of a secret understanding with the BJP are false. We are not those people who work in secret. If we ever have an understanding, we do it openly,” he said.

Omar also criticised the BJP for alleging that the government had ignored flood-affected areas in Jammu because most residents there were Hindus. He said such comments were “divisive and unfortunate,” adding that relief efforts were being carried out across regions without discrimination.