SRINAGAR: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly resolution seeking restoration of full statehood contained nothing “anti-national”, challenging the BJP to identify any such language in the text.
Speaking to reporters after the Assembly was disrupted during the debate on the resolution, Abdullah said the demand for statehood was separate from the autonomy resolution passed by the erstwhile Assembly.
He said the BJP could bring its own resolution if it wanted to seek any change to resolutions previously adopted by the House.
“If the BJP wants to dilute the already passed resolutions, let them bring a resolution,” Abdullah said.
The Chief Minister also accused BJP members of creating a disruption inside the House instead of allowing the statehood resolution to be discussed. He said the proceedings had shown the position of the BJP’s 29 legislators on the issue of restoring statehood.
Abdullah said the resolution before the House was intended to urge the Centre to restore full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and argued that it should have been allowed to come up for discussion.
Responding to the Congress position on the resolution, he said there was nothing unconstitutional about the measure and maintained that it was separate from earlier resolutions passed by the Assembly.
“There is nothing wrong in it. It is in addition to those already passed. It is separate and there is nothing unconstitutional in it,” he said.
