Ganderbal, Jul 30: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday asserted that his government has already intensified its efforts to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood and will not wait until August 5 to press the demand.
“The government has already taken the issue to New Delhi and passed a resolution in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly seeking the restoration of constitutional guarantees and statehood,” Abdullah said, speaking to reporters here after inspecting the ongoing work on the New Bus Adda Road, which is expected to significantly ease traffic congestion in the town.
The Chief Minister said his government believes in sustained political engagement rather than symbolic protests.
Responding to questions on the restoration of statehood, the Chief Minister said a single protest was never expected to resolve such a major political issue.
“If one protest was enough to solve the problem, then everything would have been resolved with the first protest itself. We knew that the issue required continuous efforts, which is why we took our demand to Delhi,” he said.
Abdullah criticised sections of the national media for overlooking what he described as an unfulfilled commitment made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
“You keep asking us about statehood, but the media in the rest of the country forgets that a promise was made to Jammu and Kashmir which has not been fulfilled,” he said.
Rejecting suggestions that his government was waiting for August 5 to raise the issue, Omar Abdullah said the administration had already acted well in advance.
“We did not wait for August 5. We went to Delhi before that. Had we wanted to create political drama, we would have gone on August 5, but we did not. We have already passed a resolution in the Assembly on Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and constitutional guarantees and forwarded it to the Central Government,” he said.
He added that while the government would continue its political programmes on August 5, its efforts for statehood restoration would remain a continuous process and not be confined to a single date.
“We will do what we have to do on August 5, but we do not wait for August 5. We continue doing our work,” he said.
During the interaction, the Chief Minister also expressed concern over reports of violence in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). Without commenting on the political aspects, he said innocent civilians should not suffer and hoped peace would prevail.
“We are all worried about the situation there. The reports that are coming are disturbing. The way force is reportedly being used and innocent people are being targeted is unfortunate. We hope peace prevails there and innocent lives are not lost,” Abdullah said.
Earlier, the Chief Minister reviewed the pace of several ongoing infrastructure projects in Ganderbal, including the New Bus Adda Road, and directed officials to expedite works aimed at improving public infrastructure, reducing traffic congestion and addressing developmental concerns raised by local residents. He reiterated the government’s commitment to ensuring timely completion of public projects and resolving issues affecting people across the district.
