Budget is a ‘commitment of love’ for J&K: Omar

Jammu, Mar 11: Referring to opposition comments that his speeches were being labelled as “love letters”, Abdullah said “whenever I speak, they call it a love letter. Fine, what can I do? If my budget speech is also being called a love letter, then so be it.”
Omar Abdullah defended his approach, calling it a “love letter” to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. “My budget speech is a love letter—to the BJP, to the PC, to the PDP, to the AIP, to Congress, to the CPI(M), to independent MLAs, and, most importantly, to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Why do we write love letters? To express love. And do we not love those who are in need? Through this budget, we’ve tried to extend that love by addressing their challenges and aspirations.”
He further emphasised, “I am not ashamed to call it a love letter. In fact, for the next five years, we will continue writing such love letters—letters of commitment, progress, and transformation for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.” He said the opposition has to oppose it and that’s why their name is opposition. “We have done the same when we were in the opposition. This Assembly, and Parliament, will continue like this,” he added
Responding to those who took issue with his praise for the Prime Minister, Finance Minister, and Home Minister, Omar clarified, “When they have helped Jammu and Kashmir, there is no sin in acknowledging their assistance and thanking them for their support. Gratitude is not something to be ashamed of. I will continue to thank them.”
Responding to a point raised by a PDP MLA regarding the tone of the couplet, the emphasised, “It was not pessimistic but realistic, as I had mentioned.” Addressing criticism that his budget speech was overly pessimistic, the Chief Minister clarified that it was, in fact, grounded in reality. “Some members called the beginning of my budget speech pessimistic, but I believe it was not pessimistic—it was realistic,” he explained. “I spoke the truth—I said, ‘My whole body has wounds.’ Pessimism would have been if I had said, ‘The body has so many wounds, death is inevitable.'”
Instead, he continued, “I said the body has so many wounds, and I don’t even have enough balm to heal them. This is not pessimism; this is our reality.”
Terming the Budget as historic, the Chief Minister highlighted the significance of the budget being presented in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly rather than in Parliament. “What makes this budget special is that, after many years, J&K’s budget is being discussed here in its own Assembly, not in Parliament. We are discussing it where it truly belongs,” he remarked.
The Chief Minister emphasised that after years of struggle, the budget of Jammu and Kashmir was finally being discussed within J&K itself, instead of just being passed in Parliament.
In discussing J&K’s financial situation, Omar Abdullah drew a comparison with Delhi, referencing the budget presented by Delhi’s Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal. “Delhi is a surplus-budget UT, and you may recall that when Arvind Kejriwal presented his first UT budget, even his own officers opposed it and took out advertisements in the newspapers,” the Chief Minister noted. He emphasised that while Delhi had a surplus budget, Jammu and Kashmir’s financial situation was far more complex, necessitating careful planning and prioritization of resources.