J&K Cabinet passes resolution for restoration of statehood

The new Cabinet of Jammu and Kashmir passed a resolution pressing the Centre to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, according to sources.

A day after taking oath as Chief Minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah on Thursday chaired his first Cabinet meeting.

The J-K government is so far silent about the decisions and discussion which took place during the meeting.

Sources said on Friday that in the first Cabinet meeting which was attended by other ministers at Srinagar’s Civil Secretariat on Thursday, a resolution was unanimously passed urging the Centre that statehood be restored to Jammu and Kashmir. Sources said that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is expected to travel to New Delhi soon to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi where he would hand over the resolution.

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 Omar Abdullah’s first resolution on statehood “is nothing less than ratification of the August 5, 2019 decision.” “No resolution on Article 370 and scaling down the demand to mere statehood is a huge setback, especially after seeking votes on the promise of restoring Article 370,” Para wrote on X.

Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference chief Sajad Lone raised questions why “should a resolution on statehood passed by the Cabinet be shrouded in mystery and secrecy.” “All across the country, to the best of my knowledge, Assembly is the proper institution for addressing major issues like that of statehood or Article 370. When the NC government passed a resolution on autonomy, they passed it in the Assembly not through a Cabinet resolution. What has changed now,” Lone wrote on X. “Fail to understand why this resolution should not have been reserved for the Assembly. Why are we so keen to trivialise everything?”

North Kashmir MP Engineer Rashid said Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is playing into the hands of the BJP. “…it means he (CM) is not ready to talk about (Articles) 370 & 35A. It is just an eyewash and he is deviating from the agenda on which he contested the elections,” he said on Friday.

Former Srinagar Mayor Junaid Azim Mattu said the “resolution is nothing short of a monumental betrayal.”

“Dismayed and disappointed that the only resolution passed by the J&K Cabinet is for the restoration of statehood. No mention of Article 370 or 35-A, not to speak of autonomy. This resolution is nothing short of a monumental betrayal,” he wrote on X.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said he led the inaugural meeting with his Cabinet colleagues. “We delved into crucial administrative matters and outlined the government’s immediate priorities. The Cabinet scrutinised pressing governance challenges, with a keen focus on enhancing efficiency, resolving public complaints and fostering transparency within the bureaucracy,” he said on an Instagram post.

He also said the government’s primary objectives “for the new administration encompass strengthening infrastructure, healthcare, education and employment prospects throughout Jammu and Kashmir.”