Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday accused Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of trying to make the people of Jammu and Kashmir “feel defeated” by declaring that the restoration of Article 370 was impossible under the present union government.
Responding to Omar Abdullah’s remarks that seeking the restoration of Article 370 from the current BJP government was impractical, Mehbooba questioned why the National Conference had included the issue in its 2024 election manifesto if it believed it could not be achieved.
“..He wants to give people a sense of defeat. I don’t think any leader should make his people feel that they have been defeated. I still say that the issue of Kashmir is alive and needs to be resolved.
Article 370 and 35A should remain part of that resolution,” she said, adding that reducing Jammu and Kashmir’s political aspirations to statehood alone was unjust to the people and amounted to normalising the constitutional changes of August 2019.
Mehbooba alleged that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had reduced Jammu and Kashmir’s political aspirations to the restoration of statehood.
She expressed disappointment that the National Conference, which enjoys a comfortable majority in the Assembly, was, in her view, reducing the “entire issue of Jammu and Kashmir” to the demand for statehood.
Mehbooba said Jammu and Kashmir had witnessed a long political struggle since 1947 and that the aspirations of its people could not be confined to a single demand.
“Jammu and Kashmir is a sensitive place. Since 1947, people have been fighting for their self-respect. To suggest that every issue will be resolved with the restoration of statehood is an injustice to the people,” she said.
Mehbboba said she had urged the Chief Minister to convene an all-party meeting before organising the National Conference’s protest in New Delhi for the restoration of statehood. According to her, a joint political strategy would have carried greater weight and reflected a broader consensus on Jammu and Kashmir’s political future.
She maintained that the public had voted for the National Conference not merely to pursue statehood but to address what she described as the larger political questions arising after the constitutional changes of August 2019.
“The mandate was not given only for statehood. It was given to resolve bigger issues facing Jammu and Kashmir,” she said, adding that the PDP would continue to remind the Chief Minister of what she called his wider responsibility towards the people.
Mehbooba accused the NC of “normalising” the constitutional changes of August 5, 2019, drawing a parallel with the 1975 accord between the Centre and the then NC leadership.
“I remember that the National Conference has always normalised the situation. When late Sheikh Abdullah entered into the 1975 Accord, he accepted the positions of Chief Minister in place of the earlier nomenclature of Sadr-i-Riyasat and Prime Minister. Whatever constitutional erosion had taken place until then was normalised,” she alleged. “In the same way, I see Omar Sahib going to Jantar Mantar only for statehood, speaking only about statehood, not even mentioning Article 370, and now saying that its restoration is not possible. I think they are normalising what happened in Jammu and Kashmir in 2019.”
Earlier, former MLA Shoiab Lone joined the PDP in the presence of Party President.
