Questioning the definition of autonomy, a senior Congress Minister in the council of Ministers of Omar Abdullah claimed on Saturday that by changing the nomenclature and naming one individual as Prime Minister, the whole of Jammu and Kashmir cannot be ‘empowered’.
Addressing a gathering of lawyers here in Jammu, PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Minister Sham lal Sharma also claimed that not many people in Kashmir want autonomy. All they want is good governance and justice. But the same has not been delivered to them over the past many years. Sharma’s remarks are likely to create ripples here in the corridors of power as he spoke on the emotive issue close on the heels of statement made by the Chief Minister during his meeting with the European Union delegation in Srinagar.
“While all the States acceded to Union of India and then merged with it, Jammu and Kashmir only acceded, not merged. That is why we have special status, our own constitution and the State Flag”, Omar had told EU delegation on September 25.
Omar had also told the visiting delegation that accession of Jammu and Kashmir to Union of India was on four matters — currency, communication, foreign affairs and defence much to the chagrin of alliance partners. Raising a question mark on the intentions behind making these statements at regular intervals, Sharma also launched a veiled attack on those who demand autonomy for the State of J&K.
“More than two-and-a-half years have passed and we have not been able to empower the Panchayati Raj institutions at the grassroot, the 73rd Amendment of the Constitution of India has not been implemented so far, the local bodies are yet to be empowered.Then someone please define autonomy. Only changing the nomenclature and naming one individual as Prime Minister cannot lead to empowerment of the whole of J&K”.
Referring to the recommendations of the Justice Sagheer Ahmed Committee on Centre-State relations, Sharma said even the report of the Justice Sagheer Ahmed has coined a new definition of autonomy and according to it, it is defined as ‘power to the people at the grassroot’. He also urged the people of Jammu region to show their strength and fight unitedly.