In its first cabinet meeting on Thursday, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s government passed a resolution calling on the NDA-led central government to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
The resolution, drafted by the National Conference, follows the party’s victory in securing 42 seats in the recent assembly elections.
Abdullah is expected to travel to New Delhi to present the resolution to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The cabinet meeting was attended by Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary, along with ministers Sakeena Masood Itoo, Javed Ahmad Rana, Javaid Ahmad Dar, and Satish Sharma.
“We have raised the issue of restoring statehood before, and now the Supreme Court has said it will be listed soon. I am hopeful that the Government of India will restore statehood in the near future,” Abdullah said on Thursday.
National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah expressed optimism about the Centre’s willingness to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, noting that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear an application on the matter within two months. He expressed confidence that the Government of India would soon move forward with the restoration.
On the issue of the abrogation of Article 370, Abdullah stated that the NC would need to return to court to present its arguments. “It will take time as we will have to go back to the courts and present our case,” he said, reaffirming the NC’s commitment to addressing the people’s concerns and fulfilling the goals outlined in their manifesto.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is preparing to consider a plea seeking the time-bound restoration of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan urged the bench, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, to expedite the hearing of this plea.
Sankaranarayanan referred to a Miscellaneous Application (MA) for restoring statehood, citing a previous judgment that emphasized the need for a time-bound restoration. Chief Justice Chandrachud acknowledged the request, saying, “I will deal with it.”
The new application was filed by Zahoor Ahmad Bhat, an academician, and Khurshaid Ahmad Malik, a socio-political activist from Jammu and Kashmir, adding to the ongoing legal debate over the region’s political status following the 2019 revocation of Article 370.
The court had previously upheld the revocation of Article 370 and mandated that assembly elections be held by September 2024, while also indicating that statehood should be restored “at the earliest.”
