Abdullah assured that once the new government is formed, he will travel to New Delhi to urge Home Minister Amit Shah and others to restore statehood to J&K
National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah on Tuesday reiterated his appeal for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, reminding Prime Minister Narendra Modi of his public commitment to the state’s restoration.
“I would like to believe Honourable PM has said it publicly that we will restore statehood. He hasn’t said we will only restore if the BJP is elected to power,” Abdullah said while speaking to the media.
Jammu and Kashmir was demoted to a Union Territory (UT) in 2019 following the abrogation of Article 370 by the Modi-led central government.
Abdullah’s comments come after the National Conference-Congress alliance’s sweeping victory in the assembly elections, according to the latest trends. He is also set to become the next Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, marking the end of over five years without a government since the region’s statehood was revoked.
The former J&K chief minister further assured that once the new government is formed, he will travel to New Delhi to urge Home Minister Amit Shah and others to restore statehood.
“Once new government comes, I expected the CM to travel to Delhi and meet HM and other leaders and impress upon them that mandate was to restore statehood. Whoever CM is I expected him to have a decent relationship with get government of India. We have to find a way of working together,” he sated.
The National Conference-Congress alliance is likely to form the government in Jammu and Kashmir, as the latest trends indicate the coalition leading in 51 of the 90 seats, while the BJP is ahead in 29.
Abdullah has secured victories in the Budgam and Ganderbal Assembly seats in Kashmir, defeating his nearest rivals from the PDP by margins of over 10,000 votes and 18,000 votes, respectively.