Don’t waste resources on things already granted, BJP tells Omar

Senior BJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister, Kavinder Gupta, has advised Chief Minister Omar Abdullah “not to waste time, resources and energy on things” like statehood restoration, which have been already promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

Gupta — in a statement — expressed “anguish” over Omar Abdullah passing a resolution on restoration of statehood. The BJP leader said that the “Chief Minister is good at staging dramas because what is the fun of wasting time on things which the Centre has principally agreed upon and the powers to take action also lies with the same Centre.”

“There are many vital issues and problems which J&K is confronting but instead of focusing on those significant matters, the newly elected CM finds it convenient to play politics on the issue which at the first place is no issue at all,” he said.

Gupta also said that PM Modi has “proved time and again that whatever has been promised to the people will be fulfilled and restoring statehood is also among those promises which will soon become a reality.”

“Whatever Omar wants to showcase in the aforesaid matter is merely a futile exercise because apparently it seems that he wants to take credit for the decision taken by the Modi government at the top level,” he said.

“The commitment of the BJP-led government to the holistic development of Jammu and Kashmir, urging all political stakeholders to prioritise the interests of the people over divisive politics.”

The Cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of Omar Abdullah on Thursday, had passed a unanimous resolution for restoration of statehood in its original form. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha too cleared the resolution passed by the Cabinet urging the Centre to restore the statehood to the Union Territory.

The passing of the resolution by the NC government however didn’t go well with the Opposition leaders in the Valley. People Democratic Party leader Waheed Para said that resolution on statehood “is nothing less than ratification of the August 5, 2019 decision.”

Focus on problems

There are many vital issues and problems which J&K is confronting but instead of focusing on those significant matters, the newly elected CM finds it convenient to play politics on the issue which at the first place is no issue at all. — Kavinder Gupta, former Deputy CM