Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday slammed Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma for his remarks that statehood would be restored only when violence ends, saying that people of the Union Territory had participated in elections in good faith over the promised return to statehood.
“You should give it back; that was in your manifesto. You kept people waiting for this very thing. Now what is the fault of the people here?” he said in the Assembly, fiercely hitting back at the BJP leader.
Winding up a discussion on the motion of thanks on the address of the lieutenant governor, Abdullah said people were asked to participate in parliamentary and assembly elections with assurances that statehood would be restored.
“For the Parliamentary elections, you told people to participate, saying statehood would be restored. People came out, voted in large numbers, and elections were held.
“Then came the Assembly elections. You again told people it was a three-step process — delimitation, elections, and then statehood. People participated in the Assembly elections as well,” he said.
Questioning the delay in restoring statehood, Abdullah asked, “Now, when it comes to statehood, what suddenly is the excuse?”
“Now, if you (leader of the opposition in the Assembly) say that only when guns fall silent will we get statehood, then tell us what exactly has been happening? And whom should I thank for this? The areas which we managed to clear of militancy with great difficulty during our government, you are now giving us verbal counters.”
The chief minister also criticised alleged remarks by BJP legislator Sham Lal Sharma regarding Kashmir and its natives.
“One of our very senior and honourable members, Sham Lal Sharma ji, talks about the statehood of Jammu only, but speaks against Kashmir and Kashmiris. And he cannot deny it, because all of us have seen the video.
“He said Kashmiris cannot be trusted, that they are anti-national people, that they did not stand with the country, and that Jammu was destroyed because of them. He said most of the money in J&K Bank belongs to Jammu,” Abdullah said.
Highlighting sacrifices made by people from the region, the CM said, “There was a Kashmiri who lost his life while saving tourists (during the Pahalgam attack). How many brave Jammu and Kashmir Police jawans and officers should I name who sacrificed their lives for this country? And this is not something new — it has been happening since 1947.”
Citing Ladakh’s experience after being granted Union Territory status, Abdullah said, “Look at the condition of Ladakh. It too demanded Union Territory status with great enthusiasm. The person who perhaps distributed the most sweets on August 5, 2019, is now sitting in jail.”
He also criticised remarks attributed to the opposition linking statehood to peace.
“Now, linking this to statehood, a new statement has come from the Honourable Leader of Opposition that we will get statehood only when Modi ji is satisfied that bullets will not be fired here. This is exactly what he said. Last year, bullets were fired, bombs exploded, and innocent tourists were killed. Whose fault is that?” Abdullah said.
PTI
Omar slams Sharma: ‘You should give it back’
