*Congress leader says restoration of J&K’s statehood should have unanimous support*
Srinagar, Sep 27 : Congress Legislature Party leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir on Sunday said the restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir was a commitment made by the Centre and not a demand for “charity”, asserting that the issue should have the support of all political parties in the Union Territory.
Speaking ahead of the fourth day of the ongoing autumn session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, Mir said the House would take up an important resolution on statehood and maintained that “1.4 crore people” of Jammu and Kashmir stood behind the demand.
“As far as the restoration of full statehood is concerned, the Assembly is not asking for charity. This is a commitment,” Mir said.
He said the erstwhile state was bifurcated and its powers were taken away, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi had subsequently committed that statehood would be restored after elections.
“Two years have passed. If he does not give the powers, if he does not restore the state, if he does not return the power, then the commitment made by the government will not be fulfilled,” Mir said.
He said the absence of full statehood had also created a situation of “dual power centres”, which, according to him, was creating difficulties for ordinary people in getting their grievances addressed.
“Whose problems are going through which door and coming from which door, this is the biggest problem for the common people,” he said.
Mir said the Assembly had already passed a resolution on statehood earlier and the issue had now been brought before the House again as a reminder. He, however, said some portions of the fresh resolution relating to autonomy could be debated.
“There can be an independent opinion on that. But as far as restoration of the state is concerned, I think the entire state should be unanimous on that,” he said.
Responding to criticism from the BJP that the Congress had failed to make its position clear on the resolution, Mir said his party’s stand on statehood was “crystal clear”.
“We are not dual like them,” he said, referring to the BJP.
Mir cited the recent Assembly resolution seeking exemption of J&K teachers from the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET), saying the BJP had supported it despite its stated position on “one nation, one law”.
“There is a difference between saying it and doing it,” he said.
He challenged BJP leaders to explain their position from the Assembly floor instead of raising the issue outside the House.
“If they had the guts, they should have stood there and given this speech. They did not. Where were their leaders, who were in the House every day?” Mir said.
He said there could be a debate over the autonomy-related portion of the resolution, but argued that there should be no division over restoration of statehood.
“When there is no state, where did the autonomy come from?” he said.
Asked about BJP leaders leaving the Assembly to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi, Mir said there was nothing unusual about national party leaders meeting their headquarters.
“The Government of India is theirs. They are its supporters here. Whatever small problems they have, they have a national headquarters,” he said.
He compared it with the Congress having its own national headquarters in Delhi and said national parties naturally take organisational and political matters to their central leadership.
Mir also referred to constituency-level issues raised by BJP leaders, including the appointment of people in a “powerhouse” and employment-related concerns of a truck driver, saying such issues could be taken up locally but did not alter the larger political question of statehood.
He rejected speculation about the fall or collapse of the Omar Abdullah government, saying the government had been given a five-year mandate by the people.
“Whatever you say outside, that the government is going to fall or break, nothing like that happens. The people of Jammu and Kashmir have thoughtfully given a mandate and this mandate will last for five years,” he said.
He said the Centre should fulfil its commitment on restoration of powers and statehood, after which the elected government and people of Jammu and Kashmir would address their own issues.
Asked whether the Assembly was adequately reflecting the sentiments and concerns of people during the 10-day autumn session, Mir said criticism that ministers were concentrating on particular constituencies rather than addressing issues uniformly did not reflect the functioning of the House.
“These things may be said by those who themselves are not a part of the House or a part of the system,” he said.
Mir, who represents the Dooru Assembly constituency, said the session still had several days of business left and that the coming proceedings would determine how various issues were taken forward.
