Srinagar: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said the National Conference (NC) would invite all political parties, except those part of the NDA, to the proposed protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on July 20 for the restoration of statehood.
He said that besides the parties in the India bloc, invitations will also be sent to parties that are neither with the India bloc nor the NDA.
“Not just the INDIA bloc. Invitations for Jantar Mantar (protest) have been prepared; they will go out to political parties in Jammu and Kashmir – those who are in the Assembly now and also those who have been in the past. (NC president) Farooq Abdullah will send invitations to all of them,” Omar Abdullah told reporters here.
“The parties like the Aam Aadmi Party, Shiromani Akali Dal, Biju Janata Dal, parties from Telangana, Asaduddin Owaisi’s party, Mayawati’s party and several other leaders who are neither with the NDA nor the India bloc, they will get letters from Farooq Abdullah and we hope they will support our protest on the 20th,” Omar Abdullah added.
Referring to Tuesday’s meeting of the NC leadership with the members of the civil society at SKICC — where a resolution was passed demanding immediate restoration of the statehood — he said the civil society has backed the party over its demand.
“It was not just a delegation, it was a meeting of the whole society. It was attended by nearly 170 representatives from different sections of civil society, including trade bodies, retired bureaucrats, educationists, and others. The meeting lasted for about three hours, and everyone, without any exception, stressed that the restoration of statehood has already been delayed too long,” Abdullah said.
The chief minister added that the civil society urged the Centre not to delay the restoration of statehood any further.
“They supported our Jantar Mantar programme and passed a unanimous single para resolution calling upon the Government of India for immediate restoration of statehood,” he said.
The CM said Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to him earlier in the day about the situation in Doda in the aftermath of a landslide.
“We talked this morning about the problems we faced due to the weather situation, especially in the Chenab valley and Kathua. The home minister called and asked about the situation. I shared all the information I had with the home minister, and if there is any need to seek assistance from the Centre, then they are ready to provide it,” he said.
On a question whether there should be a cap on the number of pilgrims visiting the Amarnath cave shrine, Abdullah said there is already a cap by the Supreme Court on the number of visitors.
“That cap is binding on the shrine board. It is a different matter that people try to have darshan without registration. It is for the shrine board to deal with that. But when a huge incident took place in the past, a cap was placed on the yatris,” he said.
He also said that the melting of the ‘Shivling’ is a natural phenomenon. “It is a natural formation created by God. Neither you nor I can decide how long it should remain. This year it has lasted six days,” he said.
Over 1.13 lakh pilgrims visited the holy cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas in the first five days of the yatra.
Replying to a question about the war threat by Pakistan over the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), the chief minister said there is no escalation from our side.
“The Indus Waters Treaty was never in the interest of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. From the very beginning, we opposed the treaty because we believed it was one of the biggest injustices done to J-K by both India and Pakistan because we had no control over our own rivers.
“Now, there has been no escalation from our side. The treaty has simply been suspended, while threats are coming from the other side. I cannot respond to that, the central government has already responded to that (threat),” he said.
On the US-Iran conflict, Abdullah said the war should end at the earliest and peace should be established.
“We have always wanted peace to be established. I have been saying that this war was an illegal attack on a country. The US President often gives different statements within an hour. We hope the ceasefire becomes permanent, war ends and peace is restored,” he said.
Earlier, he distributed appointment letters to candidates selected as lecturers by the Public Service Commission (PSC).
Abdullah, however, said filling posts nowadays takes much longer than it used to.
“I don’t remember the CID having such a major role in appointments during our time as it does now. Today, the CID takes even more time than the PSC in completing its verification process. That part is not in our hands. Even so, the appointment orders have been prepared and distributed today, and we hope these teachers will begin educating our children as soon as possible,” he said.
