Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said the long-standing demand for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir will be fulfilled at "an appropriate time" even as the elected government completed a year in office.
Responding to a question about Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's recent remarks on a "gulf" remaining between the Union Territory and New Delhi, Shah said, "He (Abdullah) may be saying this out of political compulsions. But statehood would be restored at an appropriate time. And it will be done following discussions with him."
Omar Abdullah, who completed a year as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, meanwhile, stated that he is exploring the possibility of becoming party to a plea in the Supreme Court seeking the restoration of statehood.
"I don't think anybody else understands the disadvantages that we are put to by being a UT than I do. I am the only person in the entire country with the experience of being both the chief minister of a state and the chief minister of a UT. I can put it on paper and share with the honourable Supreme Court when they have to decide about the statehood to J&K," he said.
"That said, it is for my lawyers to advise whether it would actually be beneficial to the people of J-K. If that is, I have no hesitation in becoming a party to this case in the SC. So, this is something that is actively being discussed with a legal team and based on their opinion, there is a possibility that as chief minister, I will make myself a party to this case," he added.
The chief minister stated that the BJP should clarify whether the restoration of statehood is dependent on the saffron party coming to power in J&K.
"If that is the deal that is to be struck with the people, then the BJP should be honest, because the BJP in its manifesto and its promises to Parliament and to the Supreme Court never said that the statehood is dependent on the BJP coming to power in J-K.
"If that is the case, then I think the BJP should be honest, they should tell us that so long as there is a non-BJP government in J-K, you will not get statehood.Then we will decide what we want to do," he said.
Abdullah also reiterated that his party would not ally with the BJP to make the Centre fulfil the demand, stressing that J&K is "still suffering the after-effects" of the PDP-BJP alliance in 2015.
"We have already seen how much that has destroyed J-K. An unnecessary alliance between the PDP and the BJP was born in 2015. We are still suffering the after-effects of that. I have no intention of repeating mistakes that other people have made," the CM said.
The restoration of statehood was one of the key promises made by Abdullah's party, the National Conference, which secured a landslide victory in the 2024 assembly elections. However, one year down, the government faces criticism from the valley-based opposition parties as well as from within its own ranks, which have accused it of "doing nothing" and "only appeasing New Delhi and the BJP."
The recent political statements came as the apex court on Friday granted the BJP-led union Government an additional four weeks to file its detailed response in a batch of petitions seeking directions for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
The court was hearing a plea filed by Zahoor Ahmad Bhat, an academician, and Khurshaid Ahmad Malik, an activist — both residents of Jammu and Kashmir — who have sought directions to the Centre to restore statehood to the region.
The petitioners argued that the continued delay in restoring statehood was gravely affecting the rights of citizens in Jammu and Kashmir.
(With inputs from PTI)
