Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday provoked the issue of restoring the state in the central region, saying that it was through Prime Minister Narendra Modi that “the situation in Jammu and Kashmir would be restored”.
Omar was speaking at the opening of the rail link between Katra and Kashmir. His speech that the state’s restoration will soon be a reality when the Prime Minister inaugurated the rail link.
The former state was divided into two center areas on August 5, 2019 after scrapping Article 370 by Parliament.
The issue of both Article 370 and the restoration of the state was a major election issues in the J&K assembly elections held last year after the interval of six years and central rule.
In October last year, the J&K cabinet also passed a resolution for the restoration of the state “in its original form”. Subsequently, Omar met the Prime Minister in New Delhi and presented him with the resolution of the government.
On Friday, the Chief Minister recalled the inauguration of Katra railway station in 2014 and said: “Today four people present on the stage were also present on the day, including the Prime Minister. Manoj Sinha ji was also present in his capacity at that time and I was there”.
However, Omar said: “While Manoj Sinha Saheb has received a promotion, in my case, there is a demon.
Omar insisted that it would be a mistake not to remember former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the inauguration of the rail link connecting Kashmir to the rest of the country. He said, “The project is now complete, but this happened because (former) PM Vajpayee gave it a status of national importance and gave it budgetary allocation. This will benefit the local people from the rail link along with J&K tourism.”
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The Chief Minister had earlier said that the Prime Minister has committed himself to restore Jammu and Kashmir towards the state and should be given a “first opportunity” to restore it instead of returning to courts.
He said, “Every government or every person has support for courts, but this was never our first option,” he said that going to courts would be a “fight” and that “the first option should never be”.
Meanwhile, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti welcomed the launch of Vande Bharat, which was a “long-awaited step” through rail connecting Kashmir to Jammu. He said that the rail link easily promises for the passengers and increases connectivity in our region and “from Indira Gandhi to Narendra Modi ji, everyone has contributed to this dream to become a reality”.
He has also asked the Prime Minister to consider releasing the Kashmiri youth that “after the Pahgam attack, he was jailed only after suspicion.”
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He said, “The collective condemnation of the incident by political and civil spectrum shows our shared rejection of violence. It is especially time to show politicians and compassion for those living in jails across India without serious allegations,” he said.
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