*We have done our job, ask Lok Bhawan for reservation policy
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 6: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today strongly criticized the demand raised by a BJP legislator for separation and Statehood for Jammu saying they have already separated Ladakh from J&K and destroyed it and now they want to separate and destroy Jammu
“On what basis they are asking for separate Jammu? On the basis of religion? If they want to separate Jammu and destroy it, they can do it. Why this wasn’t done in 2019?” Omar asked in response to a question on the demand raised by BJP MLA from Jammu North Sham Lal Sharma, here on the sidelines of a function.
Sham recently had called for making Jammu a separate State.
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“They have separated Ladakh and destroyed it. Now, if they want to separate and destroy Jammu, they can do it. Their politics has failed and now they remember Statehood for Jammu,” the Chief Minister said but asked why they didn’t do it in 2019.
It may be mentioned here that the BJP Government at the Centre abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution of India granting special status to erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated it into two Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh.
There has been an agitation going on in Ladakh for past about four years now, spearheaded by the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) demanding Statehood and Sixth Schedule status among other demands.
Omar said on one hand the BJP says that they (National Conference) are not taking care of Jammu and Kashmir. “But they are the ones who are destroying it,” he added.
Omar mentioned Statehood for Jammu and Kashmir, budget session of the Legislature and tourism season as the challenges and said the Government is preparing for the challenges including the one that J&K becomes a State again.
“This (the Statehood) is a challenge for us. Then, budget session of the Legislature will start on February 2. We have to prepare and present budget and then get it passed in the House. The tourism session will start in March-April and we are hoping that this will be a success,” the Chief Minister said.
Last year, he said, nobody was expecting that there would be an attack like the Pahalgam, or that there would be a Operation Sindoor type situation, or that there would be (heavy) rain in August and September, which we are still suffering from,” he said, adding the Government is preparing itself for everything even though he does not know what the situation will be like this year as just six days have passed and nobody knows about the future.
“I can’t say anything on this right now,” Omar said in response to a question on the issue of daily wagers seeking regularization.
On the issue of new Reservation Policy which the Cabinet has already cleared, he quipped: “Why are you asking me? Lok Bhawan is just two km away from here. Go there and ask them. We have done our job. The Cabinet Sub-Committee has made its report. The Cabinet approved the report. The Cabinet’s decision has been sent to Lok Bhawan. Now it is up to the Lieutenant Governor whether he approves it or not.”
On the ongoing row over medical admissions in the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME), the Chief Minister reiterated that the students have secured their seats purely on merit.
Questioning the basis of ongoing protests, he suggested shutting the Institution and shifting the students to other Government Medical Colleges.
“Why are the people protesting again today? On what basis are they protesting? Those children worked hard to get their seats. No one did them any favour, neither me, nor the university. They passed the exams and got their seats. If you do not want to have them there, then adjust them somewhere else. And anyway, I do not think those children will even want to study at that place given the prevailing situation. If I am their parent, I would not have sent them there out of fear. By all means, the Union Ministry of Health should shift them to some other Medical College of ours so that they can continue their education,” Omar said.
Asserting that we do not want to send them to a place where so much politics is being done, he said that Medical College is not worth opening. “Close it. And adjust these children in some other Government Medical College of ours. We will arrange for their education. We do not want their Medical College”.
“Religion is being brought into everything now, from sports to education,” he quipped. When asked about the future of sports after J&K U-16 cricket team created history by winning the Vijay Merchant trophy, he said his party, the National Conference, takes every game as it is.
“You should ask questions to those who connect the game with politics. When we look at the team, we do not look at the religion of the players. They do not see anything other than religion. When there were more Muslims in the football team, they had an objection to the football team. When the number of Muslims in the cricket team decreased, they had no objection to the cricket team.
“In everything, they bring religion. They bring religion into education. They bring religion in sports. They have crossed the limit by suggesting what to eat and drink. What is left now? Since they have no issue, they are now trying to separate Jammu,” Omar said.
Questioning the removal of Bangladeshi cricketer Mustafizur Rehman from the IPL, the Chief Minister asked whether forcing out an individual player would improve the situation in Bangladesh or strengthen India-Bangladesh relations?
He warned that the move could instead further deepen mistrust instead of helping improve the situation for the minorities in the neighbouring country.
“What is the fault of that poor player? I agree that our relations with Pakistan are very bad. What did the people of Bangladesh do to us? All our relations with the people of Bangladesh were good. They are still good. Bangladesh did not spread terrorism in our country. They did not destroy us. We had close relations. Now that player has been sent out,” Omar said.
He said the move is affecting the upcoming T20 World Cup being hosted by India and Sri Lanka. “The people of Bangladesh say that they will not come to India and play. They say that their match will be held somewhere else.”
Suggesting that sports and politics should be dealt with separately, Omar said the Government should have done the same thing that US President Donald Trump did in Venezuela if they wanted to protest against the emerging situation there.
“What is the fault of this player? He was ready to play. His team did not want to remove him, which is evident from its statement. They were forced to remove him. Neither did this player want to go, nor did his team want to send him back.
“Pressure came from above and they removed him. Why? Will the situation in Bangladesh be better by removing him? Will our relations with that country be better? They will not be. On the contrary, they will get worse. So what has changed?” the Chief Minister asked.
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