Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said that a single protest would not be enough to secure the restoration of statehood to the union Territory, asserting that his government had deliberately taken the demand to New Delhi to formally register its voice with the Centre.
He said political demands of such significance cannot be achieved through a one-time protest.
“One protest is not enough. If one protest could have resolved everything, the Cockroach Janta Party’s one-day protest would have solved all issues. But they had to protest again and again,” Omar told reporters in Ganderbal when asked whether the National Conference’s protest in Delhi had yielded any results.
“We took our protest to Delhi knowing that we would not get anything from the first protest. But at least register our demand,” he said.
The Chief Minister also expressed concern that the country’s media had forgotten that commitments were made on the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, which have yet to be fulfilled.
“You (local media) keep asking me about statehood. But the media in the country forgets that there was a promise with Jammu and Kashmir that has not been fulfilled yet,” Omar said.
The ruling National Conference (NC) had staged a protest in New Delhi on July 20, demanding the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. The demonstration was part of the party’s ongoing campaign seeking the restoration of the erstwhile state’s status.
Omar said his government had not waited for the anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 to press for the demand.
“We did not wait for August 5. We went to Delhi before that,” he said. “If we wanted to do a drama, we would have gone to Delhi on 5th August. But we did not wait for 5th August.”
He pointed out that the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly had already passed a resolution seeking the restoration of special status and constitutional guarantees and forwarded it to the Centre.
“We passed our resolution in the Assembly. The Assembly has passed the Resolution of Jammu and Kashmir special status and constitutional guarantees and sent it to the central government,” he said.
The Chief Minister also expressed concern over the situation in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), saying reports emerging from the region were worrying and expressing hope that peace would prevail.
“As far as the situation in Kashmir is concerned, we are all worried. The reports that are coming from there, the way power is being used and innocent people are being targeted, we will only hope that peace remains there,” Omar said.
