Omar Abdullah Demands Statehood For J&K, Says, 'Centre Must Fulfill Promise'

Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has reiterated the demand for statehood for Jammu and Kashmir, urging the Centre to fulfill its promise to restore the statehood of the Union Territory.

Abdullah stated that he has written to parties with a significant number of MPs in Parliament, seeking their support to raise the issue in Parliament and ensure the passage of a bill to restore Jammu and Kashmir's statehood.

Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, he said, "I have written a letter to all those parties who have a considerable number of MPs in Parliament and requested them to help us on the promise of statehood made to Jammu and Kashmir and raise this issue in Parliament with great noise so that a bill is passed in this session and Jammu and Kashmir gets the status of a state again."

"This is not about any one individual. This is not about any one party. This is not about the government. This is a promise made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. This promise was made in public meetings. This promise was made in front of the Supreme Court. This promise was made in Parliament. Now we want the promise to be fulfilled," he added.

He said that if the government fails to grant statehood to J&K, the decision should come from the court.

"Elections were held because the Supreme Court imposed a time limit. A date was fixed and the elections were held within that date. We want the same for statehood. If the government does not immediately grant statehood, then it will have to be granted by the court," he told reporters.

Supreme Court Hearing On J-K's Statehood

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on August 8 a plea seeking directions to the Centre for the restoration of statehood to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai, saying that the matter is shown as listed on August 8 and requested that it not be deleted from the list of that day.

CJI accepted the request and said the matter will not be deleted from the list on August 8.

The application stated that it is necessary to pass appropriate directions to restore the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir as soon as possible, in a time-bound manner, as undertaken by the Union of India.

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