Srinagar: Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said that while the National Conference has not abandoned the demand for restoring Article 370, the focus for now is on regaining statehood for Jammu and Kashmir.
He acknowledged that it is unrealistic to expect the BJP-led government of India, which removed Article 370, to reverse its decision.
Instead, the party’s immediate priority is to work with the government in New Delhi to achieve the promised restoration of statehood, which the Prime Minister has reiterated in his speeches.
Jammu and Kashmir cannot benefit from an adversarial stance towards the BJP-led government of India, Omar said in an interview with NDTV.
“Jammu and Kashmir will not benefit from an “antagonistic relationship” with the BJP-led central government,” Omar was quoted as saying.
Following his party’s and Congress’s victory in the 2024 J&K Assembly election, the first in ten years, Omar, set to become Chief Minister again with the backing of his father and party veteran Farooq Abdullah, urged Modi to fulfill his commitment to restore statehood.
The restoration of statehood was a prominent agenda item for the NC-Congress coalition during the election campaign.
Describing the Prime Minister as honourable, Abdullah expressed hope that Modi would uphold his promise to the people of J&K, despite suggestions of potential delays due to the BJP’s electoral outcomes.
“The PM is an honourable man… he promised the people of J&K statehood and I hope he lives up to that,” NDTV quoted Omar as saying.
He clarified that nowhere has the BJP stated a precondition of forming a government before reinstating statehood, stressing upon the people’s mandate and urging prompt action based on both public sentiment and a Supreme Court directive.