Srinagar, Oct 18: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah-led cabinet has reportedly passed a resolution calling for the restoration of statehood to the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir. However, opposition parties have criticised the move, terming it a “U-turn”, saying it represents a “scaling down” from the original objective of restoring Article 370.
The cabinet, chaired by CM Omar, convened on Thursday at the Civil Secretariat. Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary, along with ministers Sakina Ittoo, Javed Dar, Javed Rana and Satish Sharma participated in the first meeting of the newly elected government. Chief Secretary Atal Duloo was also present in the crucial meeting.
According to sources, the cabinet passed a resolution calling for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and urged the central government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to take action in this regard.
They said statehood remained the top agenda during the first cabinet meeting and now CM Omar will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi this week. It will be his first visit To New Delhi after assuming command of the new government.
“The official confirmation of the resolution will come within two days as there are multiple factors behind it,” the source said.
Meanwhile, Member of Parliament (MP) for Baramulla, Er Rashid, expressed deep disappointment, calling the resolution a “painful” move and a “departure from the National Conference’s principled stance”.
In a press conference in Srinagar, he said JKNC had secured an absolute majority in the elections, and people expected that Omar Abdullah’s cabinet would take a firm stand against the 2019 revocation of J&K’s special status under Article 370 and discuss it assembly not secretly in cabinet meetings.
Chairman of J&K Peoples Conference and MLA from Handwara, Sajad Gani Lone also questioned the lack of transparency surrounding the resolution.
In a post on X, Lone said that the cabinet has passed a resolution on statehood.
“In wonderment why should a resolution on statehood passed by the cabinet be shrouded in mystery and secrecy. I hope the CS of J and K has notified it as is the protocol. And I very humbly state that will of the people of J and K is reflected in the Assembly and not in the cabinet. Cabinet is a majoritarian institution of governance. It does not reflect all shades and opinions as per the will of the people of J and K,” he wrote.
The PC chief continued, “All across the country, to the best of my knowledge, the Assembly is the proper institution for addressing major issues like that of statehood or Article 370. When the NC Government passed a resolution on autonomy they passed it in the Assembly not through a cabinet resolution. What has changed now.”
MLA Handwara further questioned why this resolution should not have been reserved for the Assembly. “Why are we so keen to trivialise everything? Would have loved to see which way BJP and other parties vote on statehood and on Article 370 resolution when it is presented in the Assembly,” he wrote on X.
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader and MLA Pulwama, Waheed-u-Rehman Parra also criticised the NC’s focus on statehood alone. In a post on X, he said, “Omar Abdullah’s first resolution on statehood is nothing less than ratification of the August 5th, 2019 decision. No resolution on Article 370 and scaling down the demand to mere statehood is a huge setback, especially after seeking votes on the promise of restoring Article 370.”
Iltija Mufti, PDP leader and daughter of party president Mehbooba Mufti, asked whether it bodes well for JK when the first cabinet meet is shrouded in secrecy about a resolution on restoring statehood but there is not a squeak about restoring JK’s special status.
“Isn’t this fait accompli, whitewashing & legitimising Delhi’s illegal brutal disempowerment & disrobing of India’s only Muslim majority state? Not a scale back but utter surrender,” she said in a post on X.
In its manifesto, the NC had promised that in the interim period, “we will endeavour to redraw the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019, and the Transaction of Business of the Government of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir Rules, 2019”.
The manifesto promised that the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, in its first list of business after elections, will pass a resolution against the Centre’s decision to strip the region of its statehood and special status.
