Omar Abdullah Says Delay In J&K Statehood Linked To BJP’s Assembly Poll Defeat

Jammu, Sept 24 : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday voiced concern over what he described as a troubling perception among people that the Union Territory’s statehood continues to be withheld because the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) failed to secure victory in the last Assembly elections.

“Sometimes it appears as though the people of Jammu and Kashmir are being denied statehood simply because the BJP lost the elections. This is unfair, because nowhere was it ever said that statehood was conditional upon the BJP’s win,” Abdullah told reporters outside his private office.

He alleged that the BJP was the only party opposed to the restoration of statehood, adding that the biggest challenge facing his 11-month-old government remains the lack of progress on this issue. He reminded that the Centre had informed the Supreme Court of a three-step process—delimitation, elections, and then statehood. “Delimitation is complete, elections have been held, and the people turned out in large numbers. The BJP’s defeat should not translate into punishment for the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” he asserted.

On the economic front, Abdullah admitted that efforts to revive the tourism sector had not yielded the desired results. “Tourism stakeholders are dissatisfied. We made efforts for revival, but tourist arrivals did not meet expectations. That said, we remain committed to pushing forward and building on the progress made,” he said.

Responding to the controversy around the “I Love Muhammad” campaign, Abdullah said it was disappointing to see such a campaign being misrepresented. “Only a mentally sick person could create a case over these three words. Who can have a problem with them? People of other faiths openly revere their deities, and if that is not illegal, how can this be questioned?” he asked, calling upon the judiciary to intervene and prevent unnecessary disputes from escalating.