Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing it of deliberately delaying the restoration of statehood and calling the move "unfair" to the people of the region.
Speaking to reporters, Abdullah said, "People participated in the election process. It is the BJP's bad luck that they couldn't win. However, people here can't be punished for that. It seems like statehood is not being provided to the people since the BJP didn't form the government. It is unfair to people. It was not stated that statehood will be restored only when the results favour the BJP. The opposition to statehood is coming from the BJP."
The Chief Minister flagged the denial of statehood as the “biggest challenge” for Jammu and Kashmir, noting that even though the Centre had informed the Supreme Court about a three-step process of “delimitation, elections and statehood”, only the first two had been completed. "The biggest challenge is that we are not a state anymore," Abdullah said.
Abdullah also highlighted the economic fallout, particularly on tourism. "We were hoping that tourism in Kashmir would start again. We were hoping for a tourist influx during and after the Pooja season from states like West Bengal. But that is not happening," he remarked.
On the controversy surrounding arrests over the ‘I Love Muhammad’ slogan, the CM expressed outrage, calling the case “a sign of mental illness.” He said, "Why would anyone object to it? I don't understand how writing these three words leads to people getting arrested? This means that someone is genuinely mentally ill for making a case on this. How is it illegal to write 'I Love Muhammad'? Don't people from other religions write about their gods? If that is not illegal, how is this labelled as being illegal?"
Regional parties and citizens of Jammu and Kashmir have consistently demanded the restoration of statehood since the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, when the Centre revoked the region’s special status and split it into two Union Territories—Jammu and Kashmir (with a legislature) and Ladakh (without one).
The Supreme Court, on August 14 this year, heard a plea seeking directions to the Centre for the restoration of statehood. Abdullah stressed that until that demand is met, the promises made to the people of J&K remain unfulfilled.
