SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said the Centre had “forced” the National Conference (NC) to stage a protest in the national capital by failing to fulfil its promise of restoring statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
Addressing reporters during the party’s demonstration in New Delhi, Omar Abdullah said the NC had been reminding the Central Government for more than two years to honour the assurances made in Parliament and before the Supreme Court regarding the restoration of statehood.
“The Central Government has forced us to come to Delhi and protest. For the past two and a quarter years, we have only been reminding them to fulfil the promises made to the people in Parliament and the Supreme Court,” he said.
The Chief Minister said the National Conference remained committed to its political agenda and would continue to pursue the issues it had raised.
“In the first Assembly session, we passed a resolution on Jammu and Kashmir’s special position, special status and constitutional rights. We are not leaving that agenda,” he said.
Omar Abdullah said the immediate objective of the protest was to secure the restoration of statehood, adding that other political issues would be pursued thereafter.
“The purpose of today’s protest is to remind the Central Government of its promise. Everything will start from there—first statehood, then the resolution passed by the Assembly,” he said.
The National Conference organised the protest in New Delhi to coincide with the opening day of Parliament’s Monsoon Session, renewing its demand for the immediate restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
