CM asks Centre to define ‘appropriate time’

Srinagar, Sep 28: Defending the move to keep Article 370 out of the statehood resolution, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said he has repeatedly asked the Centre what the appropriate time for restoration of statehood was.
Addressing the Legislative Assembly, the Chief Minister said Jammu and Kashmir had already waited two years for the Central government to fulfil its promise of restoring statehood.
“The Supreme Court had directed that after the elections, statehood should be restored at the earliest. In which language does ‘at the earliest’ translate into a period of years?” he asked.
The CM questioned whether the Centre’s stance was that statehood could not be restored until terrorism ended.
“If you are saying that statehood will not come until terrorism ends, then you are effectively saying that the decision on the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir doesn’t lie in New Delhi but in Islamabad,” he remarked.
The Chief Minister said Jammu and Kashmir had accepted that the decision on statehood rested with New Delhi and questioned the rationale behind attaching conditions to the Centre’s commitment.
“If you have already decided that the Prime Minister will not give statehood to us during his tenure, then it is a matter of great regret,” he said.
Defending the wording of the resolution, Omar said it had been prepared after careful consideration to ensure that nothing in it could provide an excuse for disrupting the House.
He added that the government had deliberately kept Article 370, Article 35A, and the issue of special status out of the resolution.
“Read the resolution and tell me where we are asking for a vote on 370, 35A or special status,” he said.
Omar said that some colleagues had moved amendments seeking to bring these issues into the resolution, which, he said, could provide an opportunity to disrupt proceedings.
“My colleagues have fallen into that trap. When they add 370 and 35A to it, they give them an opportunity,” he said.
He said the government had anticipated that some members would not be happy with the resolution and might attempt to create a situation in which the House could not pass it.
“We prepared this resolution after thinking carefully. We did not want anything in it that could give the BJP an excuse to disrupt the House,” he said.
The Chief Minister pointed out that the Assembly had previously passed resolutions concerning special status, including one in 2000 during the government headed by Dr Farooq Abdullah.
“The House has passed a resolution on special status not once but twice. One was in 2000 under Farooq Abdullah,” he said.
He added that it was ironic that an attempt was now being made to reject what had earlier been done by the House.
“Today, an attempt is being made to reject what you had done yourself,” he said.
Narrating the difficulties faced under Union Territory status, the Chief Minister said that even for the resolution on statehood, the Law Department had sent an opinion to the Speaker claiming the matter was sub judice.
“I believe that the Chief Secretary also wrote to you. On whose directions was this done? I am the Minister in-charge of Law, yet I have not even seen the opinion sent to you,” he said.
Omar further said the government had sent its Business Rules to the Centre nearly two years ago but was still awaiting approval.
“Nearly two years have passed since we sent the Business Rules to the Centre. They have still not been approved,” he said.
He pointed out that the delay was another consequence of the Union Territory arrangement and the limitations placed on the elected government.
The Chief Minister also pointed out the delay in the appointment of an Advocate General.
“Nearly two years have passed since our government was formed, but Jammu and Kashmir still does not have an Advocate General,” he said, adding that the government had already submitted its proposal.
Lashing out at BJP legislators who were shouting slogans in favour of daily-wagers, the Chief Minister said that had Jammu and Kashmir been a State, the report on daily-wagers would not have taken more than a year.
“Those who today show their so-called sympathy for daily-wagers should answer one simple question: why has the committee constituted to examine their regularisation still not submitted its report? They were given six months. It could have been done in four. The real reason is that Jammu & Kashmir is a Union Territory. Had we been a State, would this have taken more than a year?” he asked. (KNO)