If statehood depends on silence of guns, decision lies with Islamabad, not Delhi’: Omar Abdullah

Srinagar, Sep 28, KNT: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday questioned the BJP-led government at the Centre over the delay in restoring full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, saying that if the restoration of statehood was conditional upon the guns falling silent, then the decision would effectively lie with Islamabad rather than New Delhi.

Speaking during the Assembly proceedings, Omar questioned the Centre’s position on restoration of statehood and said that Jammu and Kashmir should not be made to wait for an end to violence before regaining its statehood.

He said that if the argument was that statehood could be restored only after the guns became silent in the region, then, according to him, the decision on restoration would not rest with Delhi but with Islamabad.

Omar also accused the BJP of destroying the legacy of Maharaja Hari Singh, saying that the erstwhile ruler had left behind a Jammu and Kashmir whose territorial and political legacy was subsequently altered.

Referring to the map associated with Maharaja Hari Singh’s erstwhile state, Omar alleged that the BJP had destroyed that legacy by dividing Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories.

His remarks came during the Assembly debate on the resolution seeking immediate restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.

The Assembly later passed the resolution amid protests by BJP legislators, who objected to references to earlier Assembly resolutions, including the 2000 autonomy resolution. [KNT]