CM: People regained their voice after passage of special status resolution
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said that people have “found their voice back” after the passage of the resolution on the restoration of the special status of the erstwhile state.
“After passing this resolution, I have realised one thing for which I am happy. People have found their voice back and they are able to talk. We were feeling suffocated and we felt we can’t talk and express our feelings. It (now) feels that the burden has been taken off the shoulders of people,” Omar said while speaking on the vote of thanks for the Lt Governor’s address in the House.
He said that people who had forgotten their pens and computer keyboards now feel “they have the liberty to speak.”
Amid strong opposition by the BJP legislators, the Legislative Assembly had on Wednesday passed a resolution seeking a dialogue for “restoration of special status and constitutional guarantees.”
Lashing out at the non-BJP opposition MLAs for stating that a weak resolution has been passed in the House, Omar said when it was passed they came to congratulate him and hugged him for the “historic resolution.”
“Had we brought any resolution which was easily rejected, these same people would have said Jammu and Kashmir Assembly is powerless… but something is there in the resolution that today Prime Minister, Home Minster and other senior ministers are talking about it and targeting us,” he said, adding that if the resolution was “compromised or weak”, then nobody would have talked about it.
Taking a dig at the Opposition members, Omar urged them to not base their policies on information from “WhatsApp University”. “I assure the people that our agenda will not be decided by WhatsApp, Facebook or Twitter. Our agenda will be decided by the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
The Chief Minister also said that no one should have any doubt that there is any kind of conflict or confusion between the government and the police about the law and order matters.
“A lot of responsibilities have been transferred to the elected government, but the responsibility of maintaining peace, law and order and fighting militancy is not with the elected government. The situation cannot be normalised in a vacuum,” he said.
He said the government and the Lieutenant Governor are in close coordination in this matter. “There should be no doubts about the coordination between the elected government and security apparatus. I want to assure the police and paramilitary forces that we will be with them in maintaining peace,” he added.
With respect to political arrests, Omar said people who are in jail without serious charges and those against whom the charges haven’t been framed, the government should think about them. “This is not in our control, but God willing, it will be and we will work on it,” said the Chief Minister.
Omar also said that Jammu and Kashmir “should again become a full-fledged state and not a hybrid model.” He said statehood has been promised to the people of Jammu and Kashmir by the Prime Minister repeatedly. “The promise of full statehood should be fulfilled swiftly,” he said.
Omar also welcomed investors to Jammu and Kashmir, but said the resources and employment belong to the people and nobody has rights over them. “We have no problem with outside investors, we welcome them, but we are not ready to sell our assets that have been created at the cost of taxpayers,” he said.
