Srinagar: National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said restoration of statehood remains the essential foundation for regaining the region’s constitutional rights, while launching a scathing attack on political opponents for skipping the NC’s Delhi protest and refuting allegations that he had sought to internationalise the Kashmir issue.
Addressing a press conference here, Abdullah, which he said he was not addressing as CM but as the Vice President of National Conference, said his protest in Delhi on Monday was “just the beginning” and not the end of the party’s campaign. He also hit out at opposition parties for abstaining from the agitation and instead choosing to criticise the initiative on social media.
“As is said, Girte hain shahsawar hi maidan-e-jung mein, woh tifl kya gire jo ghutno ke bal chale (only experienced riders fall on the battlefield; how will a child fall who crawls on his knees),” Abdullah said in his opening remark while hitting out at opposition parties in Jammu and Kashmir.
Without naming the PDP, he drew historical parallels, alleging that political manoeuvres in the past have been engineered to dilute the state assembly’s mandates while the emergence of political entities in the year 2000 was aimed at weakening internal autonomy efforts.
“The party that emerged in 2000 is still trying to weaken the voices of the people here… And today we are witnessing such a situation again,” said Abdullah, clarifying that he was addressing the media in his capacity as the vice president of the NC.
Lashing out at the regional rivals for not joining the statehood protest, Abdullah said they “did not want to annoy the BJP and the Central government”.
“They sat in their homes and only tweeted. It was raining outside, and they sat under their quilts and ran their campaign through social media.
“The people of J&K have now understood who the people who took to the roads, who are ready to fight and struggle for the rights of the people, for the restoration of their dignity and for the betterment of J&K, and who are those people who operate through their mobile phones,” he said.
The chief minister said the Delhi protest was an open invitation to all political parties in Jammu and Kashmir because restoration of statehood was a common cause for the entire region rather than a single party.
Abdullah was in the national capital on Monday to stage a protest at Jantar Mantar demanding the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. However, police stopped him and other party leaders from moving towards the protest venue due to the heavy security deployment for the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) march.
Expressing disappointment over the opposition’s criticism, he said instead of uniting for the collective rights of the people, his rivals had resorted to ridiculing and questioning the NC’s stance on Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.
“I am certainly saddened by the fact that the people who call themselves sympathisers of the people of Jammu and Kashmir forget their sympathy at such moments. And what do they say? You go and first talk about Article 370,” he said.
Reacting to political opponents demanding the immediate reinstatement of Article 370 before statehood, Abdullah questioned the practical validity of such an argument without a fully empowered state.
“I ask them, the educated people among them, tell me, what is the meaning of Article 370 without the state? What is the meaning of Article 371 without the state?” he said, adding that the NC does not believe in fooling the people by showing them false dreams about special status from the very government that had revoked it.
He said special status defines how powers are shared between the Centre and the state government.
“Whatever special status Jammu and Kashmir would have, be it under Article 370 or anything else, the point is how to share the powers between the Centre and J&K. There is no sharing of powers between the Centre and a UT because a UT does not have any powers.
“All powers of a UT lie either with the Centre or the Lok Bhavan. All Cabinet decisions go to Lok Bhavan first,” he said and reasoned that statehood was the foundation stone for restoring special status.
“So, what power sharing are you talking about under a special status if you do not have a state list? The issue is only that. How many state list powers, Central list or concurrent list powers are there under any special status, that is the argument?” he said.
Abdullah described statehood as the foundation for restoring special status.
“Where is the state list without the statehood? It is all Union list. That is why we say that to reach there, we have to lay a foundation, then we can build a building on that,” he said.
Abdullah said the party has not forgotten the issue of special status.
“We passed the resolution (on special status) on the first day of the assembly session after government formation. It (resolution) is still alive. This resolution can be discussed only after we have statehood,” he said.
The chief minister argued that clubbing the demand for statehood with the restoration of Article 370 only gave the BJP-led Centre an excuse to delay restoring statehood.
“To expect the BJP government to restore Article 370 will be foolish. What can we get from this government is the foundation for restoring special status,” he said.
Referring to Ladakh, he said, “What has Ladakh got? Earlier they had two powerful hill councils, now they have seven — one in each district.”
He also pointed out that the Centre had committed before the Supreme Court to restoring Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.
About the party’s protest in Delhi, Abdullah said it was the beginning of a sustained campaign.
“This is just the beginning and not the end. This process will go on. What will be the new shape and strategy, that will be decided at the party-level under the leadership of Farooq Abdullah.
“We will sit and discuss what needs to be done, but the process will go on like this with some programmes within J&K and some outside,” he said.
He noted that the NC had held two large conventions in Srinagar and Jammu, while party workers staged protests at the district level on Monday.
“There will be no let-off in our fight. We stand firm that we have to keep reminding the Centre of its promise, and we hope that if not today, then tomorrow, it will fulfill its promise and J&K will be a state once again,” he said.
The chief minister said the most powerful image from Monday’s protest was that of his father and NC president Farooq Abdullah leading the march despite being 90 years old.
“The biggest symbol of yesterday’s protest for my colleagues and me was our president Farooq Abdullah. At the age of 90, carrying a stick, he set off on foot, taking us along, towards our goal of restoring our dignity. There is no more powerful image than that,” he said.
He also expressed gratitude to his party colleagues for joining the protest.
“They reached Delhi on their own. There was no help from the party. We did not book flights or trains or vehicles for them. They went on their own.
“Those who downplay our attempts, saying such a big party should have brought lakhs of people; we did not take anyone there, they all came of their own will. I hope that if we hold such a programme again, my colleagues will join then as well,” he said.
Lashing out at the regional rivals for not joining the protest, Abdullah said they “did not want to annoy the BJP and the central government”.
“They sat in their homes and only tweeted. It was raining outside, and they sat in their quilts and ran their campaign through social media.
“The people of J&K have understood who is fighting for their rights, for the restoration of their dignity and who are those people who operate through their mobile phones,” he said.
Asked about recent court observations that terrorism had declined in Kashmir while hearing a transfer plea filed by a Kashmiri Pandit employee, Abdullah said the NC also admits that there has been an improvement in the situation.
“I keep asking them (Centre) to tell us what the ‘appropriate time’ for restoration of J&K’s statehood is. How do we arrive at that appropriate time? On one hand you tell us that there is militancy and statehood cannot be restored, but on the other hand, when a Kashmiri Pandit seeks transfer from Kashmir to Jammu by making a security case, the High Court says there is no terrorism.
“These two things cannot run simultaneously. We also acknowledge the situation has improved. Now if the court also feels the same, we also say that the situation has improved so much that you can give us statehood, then why is the central government saying that the situation is bad,” Abdullah said.
On opposition parties invited to join the Delhi protest, Abdullah said the Congress stood firmly with the NC, while leaders from the CPI and the CPI(M) also tried to participate.
“We did not anticipate the scale of chaos at Jantar Mantar. I could not reach the Constitution Club because of the situation. Leaders from other parties tried to reach but could not. We may organise a new programme after consulting our party president,” he said.
Rejecting allegations that he had backtracked on recent remarks referring to US President Donald Trump, Abdullah said his comments were a “satirical political rebuttal” to the Leader of the Opposition in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly and by no means an appeal for an international intervention or a shift in policy.
“I have not retracted anything. I don’t mind an agenda coming from individual journalists. My problem is when the newspaper writes a factually incorrect editorial, I have a right as an individual to set the facts straight,” he said.
He said his reference to Trump came after the opposition leader argued that statehood could not be secured by protesting at Jantar Mantar.
“It was a satirical political rebuttal to an opposition remark, not a policy position and certainly not an appeal for external intervention,” Abdullah said.
Reiterating that Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood was strictly an internal matter, Abdullah firmly rejected any notion that he had sought foreign involvement in the region’s affairs.
“The facts were quite simple. I have never internationalised Kashmir, nor did I ask Mr Trump to get us statehood,” he said, adding that his party’s struggle for the restoration of statehood continues to be anchored within the constitutional framework of the country.
