Omar vows to intensify J&K Statehood stir after Delhi protest

Even after receiving a cold response from India alliance partners and Kashmir-based Opposition parties, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said his party would intensify its agitation until the Centre restores Statehood.

Apparently, the ruling party failed to amplify its demand at the national level in support of restoration of Statehood, as none of the national leaders, including members of the India alliance, attended the sit-in dharna in New Delhi on Monday.

A day after the protest, Omar in Srinagar launched a scathing attack against a section of Opposition parties that stayed away from the protest and mocked the National Conference on their social media handles.

A handful of leaders of the J&K unit of the Congress party stood with National Conference President Dr Farooq Abdullah as he led the protest march, after the formal permission was denied to stage a sit-in dharna at Jantar Mantar. All other national party leaders and prominent citizens, invited by the National Conference, stayed away.

Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, Omar on Tuesday asserted the Centre must honour its commitment and restore J&K’s Statehood. 

Defending his party’s stand on the issue, Omar said the National Conference had gone to Delhi to remind the Union Government of assurances made in Parliament, before the Supreme Court and to the people of Jammu and Kashmir that Statehood would be restored after the Assembly elections.

“This is the beginning, not the end. The movement will continue,” he said, adding that protests would continue in Delhi as well as across Jammu and Kashmir. Omar said the demand for statehood belonged to all people of Jammu and Kashmir and should not have been reduced to party politics. Without mincing words, Omar clarified that any discussion on constitutional guarantees, including Article 370, can follow only after that.

“What’s the meaning of Article 370 without statehood?” Omar asked. “If there’s no State, where’s the State List? Without statehood, everything remains under the Union List. Statehood is the foundation. Once that foundation is restored, we can move towards discussions on constitutional guarantees,” he said.

Responding to criticism that the NC was no longer focusing on Article 370, he said the party had not diluted its stand. “J&K Assembly has already passed a resolution seeking restoration of J&K’s special constitutional position,” the chief minister said.

Omar said NC president Farooq Abdullah would decide the future course of the agitation. He reiterated there would be “no compromise” until the Centre fulfilled its commitment to restore Statehood.

Without naming any political adversary, Omar said, “I’m not disappointed by the attitude of the Central Government as much as I’m saddened by those who claim to be sympathisers of Jammu and Kashmir but choose to remain silent at crucial moments.”

“We invited every political party because this is not the issue of one party or one Government. It concerns the entire people of Jammu and Kashmir. Instead of joining us, some tried to ridicule and weaken our efforts,” he said.

Without naming the People’s Democratic Party, Abdullah also criticised parties that had allied with the BJP in the past, saying those questioning the NC’s commitment to Article 370 had themselves abandoned their agenda to form a Government with the BJP, while the National Conference had remained consistent on the issue.

On support from other political parties, Abdullah said Congress leaders remained with the NC throughout the protest, while leaders from the CPI and CPI(M) also joined. He added that several opposition leaders, including those from the NCP, Trinamool Congress and the Samajwadi Party, could not reach the venue because of restrictions and road closures in the national Capital.