Jammu, Jul 12 (UNI) Declaring that “enough is enough,” Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Sunday announced a ‘Delhi Chalo’ – to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir–campaign during Monsoon Parliament session starting on July 20, to intensify the demand for the restoration of statehood, saying the people of Jammu and Kashmir can no longer wait indefinitely for the Centre to fulfil its promise.
“The National Conference had exercised patience for the past 21 months, but its silence had been taken for granted,” Abdullah said, addressing a massive public rally here at Maharaja Hari Singh Park.
He said, “After Kashmir, we have assembled here in such large numbers, and this shows that we cannot wait any longer for statehood. Our silence was taken for granted, but enough is enough,” he said.
Taking a dig at the BJP-led Centre, the Chief Minister reminded it of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assurance on restoring statehood.
“You should implement what Prime Minister Modi himself said on statehood—‘Ye Modi Ka Wada Hai.’ We remained silent, but our innocence was taken for granted. We have now been forced to hit the streets and fight for our rights,” Omar said.
Questioning the repeated assurances from the Centre, he said every time the National Conference sought a timeline for restoring statehood, it received the same response.
“Whenever we ask when statehood will be restored, we are told it will happen at an appropriate time. But when that appropriate time will come, nobody knows,” he said.
Announcing the next phase of the party’s agitation, Omar said he had travelled from Srinagar to Jammu only to seek the people’s approval before taking the movement to the national capital.
“I have come to Jammu today from Srinagar just to seek your permission to knock on the doors of the country’s capital for the restoration of statehood. We do not know when their appropriate time will come, but we will keep knocking on their doors and continue fighting for our rights,” he said.
The Chief Minister said the overwhelming participation in the rally had demonstrated that people from both the Jammu and Kashmir regions stood united on the issue.
“The huge gathering here has made it clear that people from both Jammu and Kashmir will no longer remain silent. They are ready to fight for the restoration of statehood,” he said.
Omar also accused the BJP of indulging in “backdoor politics” while rejecting allegations levelled against the National Conference over backdoor appointments.
“We are being blamed for backdoor entries, but it is the BJP that has mastered backdoor politics for the sake of power. Look at what they have done to the parties of Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee and the Aam Aadmi Party in neighbouring Punjab,” he alleged.
He questioned the purpose of holding Assembly elections if the elected government continued to function without full powers.
“What was the point of holding Assembly elections if the government had to function from the Raj Bhawan? We trusted your assurance that statehood would be restored without delay,” he said.
Stating that his government was trying its best despite the limitations of being a union Territory, Omar Abdullah said Jammu and Kashmir needed the powers and administrative structure of a full-fledged state to accelerate development.
“We are making every effort to perform as a union Territory, but the level of development required for a state is not possible under the present arrangement. We will not betray the people and will fulfil every promise made by the National Conference,” he added.
UNI
