People’s hopes for statehood dashed as issue finds no mention in Parl: CM

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday voiced disappointment over the non-fulfilment of the promise to restore Jammu and Kashmir's statehood, saying people's hopes had been "dashed" after the issue found no mention in the monsoon session of Parliament.

The Chief Minister was speaking at the 56th School Raising Day of Sainik School in Nagrota, where he also inaugurated the Triveni Girls Hostel.

"Leave it now, the hope has gone, the water has crossed over. We will start our process from here. We had hoped that this would not be needed, that the promises made to us would be acted upon. On those promises, action will be taken," Abdullah told reporters.

"Well, if we need to struggle a bit, have to work hard a bit … That we will do on our part," the National Conference leader said.

Responding to questions about newly proposed legislation seeking disqualification of the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers and ministers facing serious criminal charges, Abdullah raised concerns over its potential misuse.

"For now, in all the cases that have been registered and in which arrests have been made, only opposition members have been targeted. If this step is truly being taken to end corruption, then what has been the impact of the government's work since 2014?" he said.

"No law is inherently bad - the misuse of a law is what makes it wrong," he asserted.

"I only want to remind my friends in the BJP of one thing - they will not remain in power forever. The very law they use against others today could tomorrow be used against their own people. Playing with the law will not be beneficial for the country," he said.

Abdullah added that the matter was now before the parliamentary committee and he would wait for its outcome.