I got demoted: Omar Abdullah shares stage with PM, pushes for J&K statehood
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, while sharing a stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, made a fresh push to restore the statehood of J&K. Abdullah pointed out that while Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha was promoted from Minister of State to his current post, the National Conference leader was effectively demoted from being a Chief Minister of a state to that of a Union Territory.advertisement"There are four persons on this stage who were present at the inauguration of the Katra railway station (in 2014). You had just won the election, becoming the Prime Minister for the first time. MoS in PMO Jeetendra Singh was present then and our LG Manoj Sinha sahib was discharging duties as MoS Railways and I was here as chief minister."If you see, by the blessings of Mata (Vaishno Devi) Sinha has got a promotion and I had a demotion. I was chief minister of a state and now I am a CM of the UT. However, I believe that it will not take long to rectify it .... Jammu and Kashmir will again get the statehood under your watch only," Abdullah said.
The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister made these remarks while addressing an event in Katra alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who launched mega infrastructure projects worth Rs 46,000 crore. Prior to the event, PM Modi inaugurated the historic Chenab Bridge, the Anji Bridge, and the Udhampur–Srinagar–Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL), and also flagged off the maiden Vande Bharat Express to Kashmir.advertisementAbdullah said many people have dreamt of seeing a train chugging into Kashmir. "Even the British had dreamt of connecting Kashmir by train but they did not succeed. Their plan was to bring rail from Uri, along the banks of Jhelum, to connect with the country. What the British could not achieve has happened at your (Modi's) hands and Kashmir has been connected to the rest of the country," he added.The National Conference leader also paid rich tributes to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for declaring the train to Kashmir a project of national importance."It will be a grave mistake if I do not thank former PM Vajpayee. This project was undoubtedly started in 1983-84.... but it was completed only after Vajpayee declared it a project of national importance and made provisions in the budget," he added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
20 minutes ago
- India Today
Two more Naxals gunned down by security forces in Chhattisgarh, four killed so far
Security forces on Saturday gunned down two more Naxals during an ongoing anti-Naxal operation in the dense forest region of the National Park area in Bijapur district. With these fresh encounters, the total number of Naxals eliminated over the past three days has risen to four, including two high-ranking Maoist operation, which began earlier this week, has led to the deaths of top Naxal leader, who was Central Committee member, Sudhakar alias Gautam, carrying a bounty of Rs 1 crore, and Bhaskar Rao alias Mailarapu Adellu, who had a combined bounty of Rs 45 lakh across Telangana and was the Secretary of the Mancherial-Komarambheem (MKB) division of the CPI (Maoist) Telangana State Committee and also a member of its Special Zonal Committee. On Friday, security personnel recovered Bhaskar's body along with an AK-47 rifle, explosives and other arms. Earlier, on the first day of the operation, Sudhakar was killed and an automatic rifle was seized from the encounter continued through the night into Saturday, with security forces recovering additional automatic weapons from the latest gunfight. The large-scale operation remains active as forces continue combing the forested terrain in pursuit of remaining Watch IN THIS STORY#Chhattisgarh
Time of India
32 minutes ago
- Time of India
Telangana government proposes to expand metro rail in Hyderabad
HYDERABAD : The Telangana government has decided to expand Metro Rail network here by over 86 kms. Briefing reporters on Thursday night after the state cabinet meeting, Information and Public Relations Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy said it was decided to propose to the Centre to take up the metro rail expansion at a cost of Rs 19,579 crore in partnership with the state. He urged Union Ministers from Telangana G Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay Kumar and BJP Lok Sabha member from Malkajgiri Eatala Rajender to persuade the Centre to agree to the proposal. The cabinet also decided to name the proposed earth sciences university in Bhadradri-Kothagudem after late prime minister Manmohan Singh. Singh was instrumental in the formation of Telangana during the previous UPA regime, the minister recalled. The cabinet decided to provide financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh to the kin in the event of accidental death of a woman Self-Help Group (SHG) member, he said. Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, who was also present at the press conference, said the cabinet decided to release a Dearness Allowance (DA) to the state government employees immediately and give another DA after six months. Vikramarka, who heads a cabinet sub-committee on issues of employees, said a trust would be formed on the issue of health cards of employees. Every employee would contribute Rs 500 per month and the government would contribute an equal amount in a year. The amount would be assigned to the proposed trust which would be headed by the Chief Secretary. It will have the representatives of employees, he said.
New Indian Express
37 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
AAP's Jain appears before ACB in classroom scam case
NEW DELHI: Former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain on Friday appeared before the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) for questioning in connection with an alleged corruption case concerning the construction of classrooms in government schools. Jain had been summoned by the ACB to appear for questioning. Before heading to the ACB office, he maintained that the previous AAP government had prioritised education in the city, unlike the present BJP-led administration. 'The previous AAP government in the national capital worked towards improving the city's education, while the current BJP government is only doing politics,' Jain said. The ACB had earlier summoned AAP leaders, former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and former PWD minister Satyendar Jain in connection with the case. Jain was asked to appear on June 6, and Sisodia has been summoned for June 9, according to officials. In April, the ACB registered a case against AAP leaders, alleging corruption in the construction of classrooms at inflated costs. The agency claimed that a scam worth Rs 2,000 crore had been uncovered in the construction of 12,748 classrooms and buildings during the tenure of the AAP government. The complaints were filed by Delhi BJP spokesperson Harish Khurana, BJP MLA Kapil Mishra, and Neelkanth Bakshi of the BJP's media relations department. They alleged corruption in the construction of approximately 12,748 school classrooms at an expenditure of Rs 2,892 crore. According to the ACB, the awarded tender cost for building a classroom was around Rs 24.86 lakh, while such a room could have been constructed for Rs 5 lakh. It was further alleged that the project was awarded to 34 contractors, many of whom are reportedly linked to the AAP. Joint Commissioner of Police (ACB) Madhur Verma said, 'It was decided in meetings of the expenditure finance committee for 2015-16 that the project would be completed by June 2016 at the sanctioned cost without any scope for future cost escalations. But not even a single work was completed within the prescribed time and significant cost escalations were observed.'
