Statehood restoration getting dragged without timeline: CM Omar

Srinagar, Aug 25: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said that the issue about restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir was dragged because the Supreme Court had not fixed any timeline.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function at Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) here, CM Omar, while referring to the Supreme Court listing case with regard to restoration of statehood to J&K, said he was not aware of who went to the Supreme Court with a plea for urgent hearing of the case.

On Monday, the Supreme Court declined a plea for an urgent hearing in the matter concerning the restoration of statehood to J&K and fixed the next date of hearing for October 10.

“We don’t want this decision to get delayed further. We have been in government for more than 10 months, and we have been after statehood since the first day,” he said.

CM Omar said that in his first cabinet meeting, the first decision was passing a resolution for the restoration of statehood to J&K.

“And when I met the Prime Minister for the first time after government formation, the first thing I did  was to give him the cabinet resolution for restoration of statehood to J&K,” he said.

The CM said that people had been waiting for this decision for a long time but had not received any benefits yet.

“The Supreme Court is not ready to hear the case before October 10, 2025. So, we will wait a little bit longer. But we are still waiting for the Supreme Court to pass the resolution,” he said.

CM Omar said that had the Supreme Court not issued orders with a fixed timeline for holding Assembly elections in J&K, he would not have been speaking to the media today as a CM.

“The elections in J&K were held because the Supreme Court had put a time limit on it. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court did not put a time limit on restoring statehood, and that is why we are being dragged into this,” he said.

The CM expressed hope that after October 10, a time limit would be set on it after the case is listed before the Supreme Court, and J&K would get the status of a state again.

About the protest led by former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti in Srinagar demanding the release of prisoners, CM Omar said that the government was also concerned about the prisoners, but such issues need to be raised with New Delhi.

“Nothing can be done about it in Srinagar. The decisions related to the security of J&K are taken in Delhi by the Home Ministry. So it will be better if they go to Delhi and meet the Home Minister and put this matter in front of him like we did,” he said. “But if this has to be done just for a show, then they can do it here and no one will object to it.”

About the progress of NC’s signature campaign for the restoration of statehood, the CM said that the campaign was going on and would be presented before the Supreme Court and the Centre once completed.

Earlier, CM Omar said that there was no dearth of welfare schemes of the Social Welfare Department, but people had no information about these schemes.

“People have to be fully informed about these schemes and the benefits they can get from them. We have to make people aware of how they can apply for these schemes and reap benefits as well,” he said.

The CM said that people in the past had to visit government departments to apply for the schemes, which were now done online.

“Most of our schemes are now available online. So the Social Welfare Department has to put in some effort and spread the message and benefits of these schemes in every part of J&K,” he said.