In a significant move, the newly formed government led by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah passed a resolution during its first cabinet meeting on Thursday, urging the Centre to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. The resolution, drafted by the National Conference (NC), follows their victory in the recent assembly elections where they secured 42 seats.
However, the resolution has sparked criticism from key political figures in the region. People’s Conference chief Sajad Lone criticized the decision to pass the resolution through the cabinet rather than the assembly, calling it a “majoritarian” approach that undermines the democratic process. Lone took to X (formerly Twitter), stating, “Assembly is the proper institution for addressing major issues like statehood or Article 370.”
Waheed Para, a senior leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), also voiced his concerns, calling the resolution a “setback” for not addressing the restoration of Article 370. Para argued that the resolution amounts to a mere correction of the August 5, 2019 decision, when Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370 was revoked.
Omar Abdullah is expected to travel to New Delhi to present the statehood resolution to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea for the time-bound restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.