The newly-elected National Conference (NC) legislators will meet on Thursday before allies pick the first chief minister of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) since 2018. âThe leader of the alliance will then, I assume, take letters of support, go to Raj Bhavan, stake the claim, and request the LG [lieutenant governor] to fix a date for the swearing-in,â NC leader Omar Abdullah said a day after he led the NC-Congress alliance to victory with 49 out of 90 seats.
Abdullah underlined he would like the process to be concluded as soon as possible since the region has been without an elected government since 2018. âTime has come that we get back to work…â
Omar Abdullah underplayed his father Farooq Abdullahâs statement that the former would be the chief minister. âI am very grateful for the confidence that he has reposed in me. But that decision is for the legislators to make. It is a decision of the alliance to make. I love my father dearly and I am very grateful for the support that he showed me yesterday [Tuesday] but finally, the say has to be of the legislators and I am always one to do things by the rules and by the book. This is the procedure that has to be followed and that is what will be done.â
Omar Abdullah said whichever chief minister is sworn in in the next few days, there will be legislative and government-related priorities. He added his suggestion to the incoming government would be that the first business of the Cabinet should be to pass a resolution asking for statehood to be restored and the chief minister should travel to Delhi with that and call on the senior leadership of the country and ask them to fulfill their promise.
Omar Abdullah said the regionâs people want to feel a part of the decision-making process â…it is our responsibility to carry them along. The people of J&K have gone unheard since 2018. Now the time has come for us to work for the benefit of the people of J&K. I am also acutely aware of the fact that there is a sharp divide between Kashmir and Jammu. Therefore, the incoming government will have a major responsibility of giving a sense of ownership to the people of Jammu.â
He said the new government would not be that of the NC, the alliance, and those who voted for them. âIt will be a government for every individual of J&K regardless of who they voted for or whether they voted at all…Special emphasis will be placed on giving a sense of ownership and a voice within the government to those areas from where MLAs [members of the legislative assembly] in this coalition will be less in number.â
He reiterated their stand on the restoration of statehood would not change. Abdullah referred to the Constitutionâs Article 370, which was nullified in 2019 to strip J&K of its semi-autonomous status, and said they never said they would be silent on the issue or that it is not an issue. âBut we are not ready to fool people. I have always said that the expectation of getting it back from people who scrapped Article 370 is foolishness. That is like deceiving people.â
He said they would keep this issue alive. â…We hope that one day the government would change, the Prime Minister would change and there would be a government with whom we would be able to talk on this issue and gain something for J&K…â
