NC supported Women Reservation but not delimitation
Our Govt fulfilling commitments made to people
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Apr 20: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today called upon the Central Government to spell out a clear roadmap for restoration of Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir saying there is no clear answer from the Centre except `the right time’. He said the National Conference Government has been fulfilling its promises made to the people but the BJP has failed to keep up its promise made in the Supreme Court, Parliament, rallies etc on restoration of Statehood.
Follow the Daily Excelsior channel on WhatsApp
Addressing a public rally in Nowshera in Rajouri district today, Omar took a dig at the BJP-led Central Government for not fulfilling the promise held out on several occasions that Statehood will be restored to Jammu and Kashmir.
“They (the BJP Government) have repeatedly been saying that the Statehood will be restored at the right time. I have been asking them to clearly tell what does the right time mean. They repeated the promise in Supreme Court, Parliament, several rallies and during elections but this assurance hasn’t been fulfilled,” Omar said and asked: “should we consider your promises so light”?
Urging the Central Government to spell out a clear roadmap for restoration of Statehood, the Chief Minister said the clear answer never came from the Centre. “They should tell us clearly. If they said it is their promise…it is their word…does their word has no value”? he asked
Omar said the Central Government must tell us conditions that need to be met so that they can reach that goal.
Maintaining that turning a State into a Union Territory is like a punishment, he said while the BJP Government has not been keeping its promise; the NC Government has been fulfilling its commitments made to the people. He said the people had voted with the hope that the perceived injustice against Jammu and Kashmir would be addressed.
He said the BJP also made promises to the people and asked where these promises go? “Though the BJP Government was not formed in Jammu and Kashmir, but the Central Government is theirs. What was their promise? They said — participate in the election, and after that we will restore Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.”
Omar said the BJP had outlined a three-step process including delimitation, followed by elections and then restoration of Statehood but they never said that “if you give power to another party, we will punish you”.
“Delimitation happened — however it may have happened, it did happen. Then elections were held — not one, but two in a single year, 2024. First the Parliamentary elections, then the Assembly elections. They said that as soon as the elections are over, Statehood will be restored. Today, one and a half years have passed; we are asking: where is that promise?” Omar asked.
Referring to just defeated Women’s Reservation Bill in Lok Sabha, he said their party members made it clear in Parliament that they support the bill but delimitation cannot be done without a census.
“What was the compulsion? What was hidden behind this bill?” he asked.
Referring to the delimitation exercise in Jammu and Kashmir, Omar asked: “Have we forgotten how delimitation happened here? Seven seats were created and out of them six were taken by the BJP with an aim to consolidate control.
“It is another matter that, by the will of the Almighty, their plans did not fully succeed, and people like Surinder Choudhary (currently Deputy Chief Minister and MLA Nowshera) won, so that such designs could be defeated”.
Asserting that his party would continue to raise such issues, Omar said that’s why we keep confronting them, we keep questioning them. And when we do, they are not comfortable — they are not happy.
Omar accused the BJP of targeting relatives of political adversaries and questioning what he termed the party’s inability to “compete directly.”
“Is your (BJP’s) system so weak that you cannot compete with us directly and instead go after family members?” he asked alleging that the BJP’s repeated accusations against Opposition leaders had failed to stand scrutiny.
“They (BJP) resort to such methods to harass us. They keep bringing allegations repeatedly, but none of these accusations holds – nothing comes out of them,” he said and claimed that when nothing was found during raids, agencies shifted focus to harassing family members.
“They harass us. And if anyone has been targeted the most, it is my colleague Surinder Choudhary. Time and again, you see – whenever he speaks in the Assembly, he speaks for Jammu and Kashmir, never for himself. He speaks about rights, about Statehood, about brotherhood, about Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, and about our shared history. He does not speak to divide people. But this does not suit the BJP”, Omar said and questioned the alleged targeting of Choudhary’s family.
“If Surinder Choudhary has entered politics and defeated the BJP’s candidate, how is that his brother’s fault? What is his brother’s crime? He is simply doing his job; he has been recruited and is working,” he said.
He further alleged that Choudhary’s brother was denied promotions and transferred without justification. “When promotions in a batch take place, who gets left out? Surinder Choudhary’s brother – simply because of who he is related to. He was sent to Ladakh despite no requirement there. Even when the Ladakh administration sent him back, he was forcibly sent again,” the Chief Minister claimed.
“You can target capable people – target me, target Surinder, target Sakeena, target Nazir – but why do you go after relatives and friends?” he asked.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
