Righted wrong to bridge Jammu and Kashmir: CM

Jammu, Nov 3: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Monday, said that with the resumption of the Darbar Move practice, he corrected a ‘wrong’ to re-establish a historic bridge of compassion between Kashmir and Jammu, which would also help revive Jammu’s economy.

He said that the Darbar Move was stopped to save money, yet it was among those issues where sentiments took precedence over everything else.

“In the past few years, the practice of ‘full Darbar Move’ was stopped. It should not be measured only through an economic yardstick. It definitely gives a desired boost to Jammu’s economy. But beyond it, this practice has played a significant role in uniting Jammu and Kashmir through this regular bi-annual move of people from Kashmir to Jammu in winters and from Jammu to Kashmir in summers. This interaction is invaluable and has worked to the advantage of J&K,” CM Omar said, addressing a select group of media persons, on the opening day of Darbar Move that resumed after four years.

He said that in the first instance, the decision to scrap this practice should not have been taken.

“There are people who try to create differences between Jammu and Srinagar by playing the ‘Jammu versus Kashmir’ card to serve their political ends. We have removed that artificial barrier. Now, I don’t want to go into the details as to in what circumstances, Darbar Move practice was scrapped. I only know that this was a significant historical practice. It was not the legacy of Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, Farooq Abdullah, or Omar Abdullah. It had been in vogue since the pre-independence era. We only revived it,” the CM said.

About other electoral promises like restoration of statehood, he said that they too would be fulfilled.

“We will fulfill all our electoral promises. Today Darbar Move resumption has been accomplished; the rest will follow. Our government has been elected for five years. Rest assured, we will walk the talk,” he said, referring to the assembly resolution on J&K’s special status, cabinet resolution on statehood, and the budget announcements about free rides to women, and amendment in marriage assistance norms for poor girls.

Taking an oblique dig at the political adversaries, CM Omar said that the people were patiently waiting as they knew it would take time for all these promises to take concrete shape.

“But the opposition was desperate and was criticising the government for the sake of opposition,” he said.

About the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by People’s Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti seeking transfer of undertrials lodged in jails outside J&K, the Chief Minister said that as the matter was sub-judice, it could not be discussed even in the Legislative Assembly.

“Now we will have to wait for the court decision, and till then we cannot even raise it in the House,” he said.

Directly targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while answering questions about Nagrota and Budgam bypolls, CM Omar said that the party was not averse to dynastic politics.

“It uses this handle to attack its political opponents only. But it definitely likes in-house dynastic politics. Nagrota re-establishes this fact,” he said.

The CM reiterated that his government was not hiding anything vis-à-vis the reservation issue.

“We would not have included it in our manifesto if we had to hide anything or if our intent was not clear. The cabinet sub-committee has submitted its report. We will forward it to the Lieutenant Governor after the cabinet approval in the next meeting,” he said.

In the wake of his government’s woes about the dual power structure in J&K, hindering the government's functioning, would he move to the court to address these issues?

CM Omar’s answer was, “The party’s legal and constitutional luminaries are examining all prospects – pros and cons.”

About the flood relief, he said, “Contrary to the 2014 floods, this time Jammu region has suffered more damage. Accordingly, the J&K government has prepared and submitted its memorandum to the Centre. We are hopeful of a comprehensive central package soon.”

Responding to a query about the overwhelming reception he received during the day from Jammu traders and other locals for the resumption of Darbar Move, the CM said, “Yes, the response itself manifested how important this decision was for Jammu. It took us around an hour to cover the distance from my official residence to the civil secretariat, which ordinarily would have taken five minutes or so. The love showered by people was overwhelming.”

He said that Additional Chief Secretary Shaleen Kabra and his team would soon address all the problems related to ‘Move employees.’