At Katra rail link inauguration, Omar rakes up J&K statehood — ‘L-G was promoted but I was demoted'
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Friday raked up the issue of restoring statehood to the union territory, saying it was through Prime Minister Narendra Modi that 'J&K's status will be restored'.
Omar was speaking at the inauguration of the rail link between Katra and Kashmir. His speech that the restoration of statehood will soon be a reality came after the prime minister inaugurated the rail link.
The former state was split into two union territories on August 5, 2019 after the scrapping of Article 370 by Parliament.
The issue of restoration of both Article 370 and statehood were major election issues in the J&K Assembly elections held last year after a six-year hiatus and central rule.
The J&K cabinet in October last year had also passed a resolution for restoration of statehood 'in its original form'. Following this, Omar had met the prime minister in New Delhi and presented him with the government's resolution.
On Friday, the chief minister recalled the inauguration of the Katra railway station in 2014 and said: 'Four people present on the stage today were also present that day including the prime minister. Manoj Sinha ji was also present on the occasion in his capacity as MoS Railway at the time and I was there'.
However, Omar added: 'While Manoj Sinha sahab has gained a promotion, in my case, there is a demotion. I was the CM of a state then and I am now the CM of a union territory. But I am of the belief that it will not take too long to correct this. Aur aap hi ke haathon Jammu Kashmir ko dobara riyasat ka darja haasil hoga'.
Omar emphasised that it would be a mistake not to remember former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the inauguration of the rail link connecting Kashmir to the rest of the country. 'The project has been completed now but this happened because (former) PM Vajpayee gave it the status of Project of National Importance and gave it budgetary allocation. This will greatly benefit J&K. Tourism as well locals will benefit from the rail link,' he said.
The chief minister had previously said that the prime minister has committed himself to restoring statehood to J&K and they have to be given the 'first opportunity' to restore it, rather than going back to the courts.
'Every government or every individual has the recourse to courts but that was never going to be our first option,' he said., adding that going to courts for it would be a 'fight' and that 'should never be the first option'.
Meanwhile, former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti welcomed the launch of Vande Bharat connecting Kashmir to Jammu via rail as a 'long-awaited step'. She said that the rail link promises ease for commuters and boosts connectivity in our region and that 'from Indira Gandhi to Narendra Modi Ji everyone has contributed to this dream becoming a reality'.
She has also called upon the prime minister to consider releasing Kashmiri youth 'jailed on mere suspicion post the Pahalgam attack.'
'The collective condemnation of the incident by people across the political and civil spectrum reflects our shared rejection of violence. It's time to show statesmanship and compassion especially towards those languishing in jails across India without serious charges,' she said.
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