Srinagar, Oct 18 (KNO): Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said that linking Pahalgam attack with statehood restoration is an injustice to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. He added that the government will scrap Public Safety Act (PSA) once statehood is restored.
Omar also said the candidate for Budgam by-poll would be announced within the next 48 hours. He further announced that the cabinet would be expanded after the by-elections.
Fulfilling promises
Addressing a press conference in Srinagar over the completion of one year in office, the CM, per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said that all promises made with the people will be fulfilled in the five-year tenure.
“There are some hurdles in our way, but all our promises to the people mentioned in the manifesto will be fulfilled in five years,” he said while replying to a query on 12 gas cylinders and an increase in ration quota as promised ahead of the 2024 Assembly polls.
Installation of smart meters
The Chief Minister talked about the issue of smart meter installation, saying the National Conference never promised to do away with the smart meters in its manifesto. “We had promised 200 free units to the people, which can only be possible when the smart meters are installed. If these meters are not installed, then promises can’t be fulfilled as there would be no process to gauge the load of consumers,” he said.
He said that the government has been trying to ensure the people have better supplies and a reduction in the power bills. This, he said, has been possible only after the smart meter installation. “The (power) department tried to ensure better supply during winter, and during recent floods, the electricity supply was restored. I want to ensure better supply to people, infrastructure to fulfil our promises,” he added.
Omar said that, as far as poor consumers are concerned, proper assessment of the load has resulted in a reduction in their electricity bills. “We want to ensure free units to the poor, reduction in bills and better supply to the consumers,” he said.
Statehood promise
On statehood, the Chief Minister said that the Centre never promised its restoration only after the BJP comes into power. “We will have to hope for it. But, it is a fact that statehood has been linked with the Pahalgam (terror attack), which is an injustice to the people. The elected government was not responsible for it, and the people also didn’t support the attack. Even those involved in the attack and later killed by the security forces were not from J&K.”
He added, “We have been promised in the Parliament and the Supreme Court that first delimitation, then election and later statehood will be restored. Two promises have been kept so far, while the third is still pending. We hope it will be fulfilled and the (J&K) government will be empowered."
Abdullah said that linking the statehood restoration with an alliance with the BJP is out of the question. We have been suffering the after-effects of the unnecessary alliance between the BJP and the PDP. Therefore, we won’t repeat the mistake that others have made in the past,” he said.
Cabinet expansion
The CM said the constraints of being a Union Territory and an "artificially" low number of ministers that were allowed to be inducted have their bearing in terms of areas and communities that can find representation within the government. “But, this belief that unless you are a minister you can’t work for an area is incorrect. I am not the Chief Minister of Ganderbal, Sakeena is not the minister for Noorbabad, but of the entire J&K," he said.
He said there is still the possibility of having a few more ministers. “It is something I am actively considering. Once by-elections are held, we will see what happens,” he said.
Promise of scrapping PSA
The Chief Minister said the party has promised to remove the Public Safety Act (PSA). "But for that, we will need statehood, and the elected government should have law and order in its hands. If that happens, I won’t wait for the assembly but pass an ordinance to remove the PSA,” he said.
J&K by-elections
Omar said only a few candidates have been announced for the by-elections (in Budgam and Nagrota), and there are still a few days left. “The discussion is going on, and in the next 24 or 48 hours, our candidate will be announced, who will file the nomination papers,” he said.
For Nagrota, he said the Congress has been formally approached, and the NC is ready to keep the seat for them. “Earlier, the seat was fought by NC, and in 2024, the party emerged victorious. Since we have an alliance with Congress, we want them to have a strong base in Jammu. We won’t have any issues if they want to come up with a candidate. We will extend our support,” he added.
The CM also reacted to a query about the consultation with the party's Member of Parliament (MP) Aga Ruhullah on the Budgam seat, saying that the leaders, who have been authorised to give a mandate, know whether he has been taken on the board or not.
Absence of Advocate General
About the absence of Advocate General, Abdullah said, "The government, soon after assuming the office, had appointed an Advocate General; in fact, the existing Advocate General was asked to continue, but he was stopped from attending work. I don’t know for what reason he was asked to stop. I believe the authority to appoint an Advocate General is with the elected government."
He said the absence of the Advocate General is not good for J&K. "He (AG) is the legal face of the government. We are probably the only state or UT in the country that doesn’t have an Advocate General to attend the court," he said. "Some disagree, but we continue to press this case. We are also pressing for the clarity of the Business Rules that were cleared by the cabinet in March this year. Hopefully, when those go ahead, we will be able to address this."
Centre's statehood consultation
The Chief Minister rejected the reports that the central government is consulting with the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) administration regarding the restoration of statehood. " I first heard about it when the Supreme Court was informed about this,” he said.
Becoming a party in statehood case
Abdullah said he has had conversations with very senior lawyers both in J&K as well as in Delhi about the possibility of becoming a party in this case as the Chief Minister of J&K. “I don’t think anyone understands the disadvantages that we are put to by being a UT than I do, because I am the only person in the entire country with experience of being a Chief Minister of both the State and a Union Territory. This issue is being actively discussed with a legal team, and based on their opinion, there is a possibility that I will make myself the party of the case,” he said.
Fight for statehood and special status
Omar said the government in the first Assembly Session passed the resolution of special status and the statehood restoration, which was sent to the central government and has not been dismissed or thrown into the bin so far. “At one point in time, if not with this government then maybe with the next government, it will become a base for the discussion on the issue,” he said.
Also, in the first cabinet meeting, the resolution was passed for statehood restoration, which was handed over to the Prime Minister by him personally, he added.
The CM said the accusations are being made by the people who sought votes from the people to keep the BJP away, but later joined hands with them.
Promotion of tourism
The Chief Minister said that the J&K government has been trying its best to promote tourism here. “We know that lakhs of people are earning from it. We want tourism to reach the heights as it was before Pahalgam. We sent our teams to outside countries as well, and also within the country. We want the tourists to return. Our efforts are still on and we can’t say that the centre has not supported us," he said.
Abdullah added, "In J&K, we are speaking in two voices. On one hand, we have been putting efforts to promote tourism, while on the other hand, the unelected government has kept many destinations closed for tourism. It has not been done in the last 35 years. In the peak of militancy, these destinations were not closed. At this juncture, we need to open them so that there is no confusion, and we will make further efforts to promote tourism."
About bills in Assembly session
CM Omar said that any bill is the property of the Speaker before being introduced in the House. “There is a procedure to introduce the bill. If there are enough bills, then the draw of lots takes place. If any bill is introduced meant for the public's well-being, our government will not create any hurdles. But nobody knows whose bill is introduced in the Assembly Session,” he said—(KNO)