Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly is likely to witness acrimonious scenes on Monday, amid the opposition BJP’s protest against a resolution brought by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah seeking immediate restoration of statehood.
Soon after Abdullah tabled the resolution on Friday, BJP MLAs created a ruckus in the assembly, leading to an abrupt end to the proceedings of the House for the day.
While the BJP demanded the dismissal of the National Conference government for bringing in the resolution, which tied statehood to the pre-1953 position, Abdullah said his resolution sought a vote only on the restoration of statehood.
On Friday, Abdullah accused BJP MLAs of creating a ruckus in the House to evade voting on the resolution.
He said the fresh resolution tabled by him did not dilute earlier resolutions on greater autonomy or special status and was tabled to have one voice for restoration of statehood.
“You saw how the BJP reacted to this. Because they simply do not want to vote on statehood. They want to back out of this vote under one pretext or another,” he said.
The chief minister said the House was not being asked to vote on Article 370 or special status, as those resolutions passed on June 26, 2000, and November 6, 2024, respectively, were already the property of the House.
The erstwhile state assembly had passed a resolution moved by the then Farooq Abdullah government on June 26, 2000, seeking restoration of greater autonomy as it existed before August 9, 1953. On November 6, 2024, the assembly had passed a resolution seeking the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.
“Today, no one is asking them to vote on Article 370… or special status or autonomy. We are asking for a vote from the BJP solely and exclusively on statehood, and they are not ready,” he said.
Refuting the BJP’s allegations that the measure was “anti-national”, Abdullah challenged the opposition to point out any unconstitutional language in the text.
“We are simply saying that the Centre must immediately restore full and complete statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. Show me one anti-national word used in this resolution,” he said.
While the Congress, as an ally, has supported the demand for restoration of statehood, the People’s Conference has, for a change, also supported the National Conference over the issue.
People’s Conference president Sajad Gani Lone said statehood was not charity, but the right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
However, BJP MLAs demanded the immediate dismissal of the Jammu and Kashmir government, alleging that its recent moves were aimed at reviving an earlier political arrangement and challenging the constitutional framework.
BJP MLA Sham Lal Sharma accused the NC-Congress government of attempting to overrun its constitutional domain by moving a resolution in the assembly which sought to revive issues related to autonomy and the pre-1953 constitutional arrangement.
“The Bharatiya Janata Party does not want this. Our leadership has committed on the floor of the House that we will provide statehood at an appropriate time. But their nefarious designs are not about statehood. They want it (greater autonomy) forcibly. They want to revive the kind of political arrangement that Sheikh Abdullah had designed at that time,” Sharma claimed.
