J&K CM Omar meets with Amit Shah, to seek timeline for early statehood restoration

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Thursday with the intent of seeking an early restoration of statehood in addition to discussing a range of other key issues. This is the second time that Abdullah has held a meeting with Shah after becoming the first chief minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Union Home Minister also chaired a high-level security review meeting on Jammu and Kashmir in Delhi today, which was attended by Lieutenant Governor of J&K Manoj Sinha. J&K Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo and J&K Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat also attended the meeting.

During the meeting, Shah declared the government’s commitment to realising the goal of “terror-free Jammu and Kashmir” at the earliest. 

Meanwhile, Abdullah remains positive for an early restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, and anticipates working out a possible timeline. Apart from this issue, the CM also sought clarity on the Transaction of Business Rules (TBR) in order to get a clear understanding of the powers of the elected government over various departments, news agency PTI reported.

On his meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi Omar Abdullah said: “The meeting with Home Minister was regarding the situation in J&K, restoration of statehood, …There were talks over statehood to J&K and there is hope that it will be restored. At present, the responsibility of law and order and security is of the LG. I have told the Home Minister that terror and militancy cannot be dealt with only by including the people of J&K by taking into confidence the elected representatives.”

Abdullah on Wednesday had said that there were several issues, including restoration of statehood, which he needed to discuss about with the Union Home Minister. 

“There are a lot of issues on which I need to talk with the home minister. Currently, J&K is a UT and we are expecting statehood. The home minister has a different role in the UT,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the 18th Annual Tourism Summit 2024 organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Previously, the J&K CM met Shah on October 23 during his first official visit to Delhi after assuming office on October 16.

While the previous meeting was seen as more of a courtesy call, officials told PTI that Abdullah apprised Shah about the current situation of the UT this time and also discussed the matter of restoration of statehood. 

Shah Vows To Achieve ‘Terror-Free’ Jammu And Kashmir

Addressing the high-level security review meeting on Jammu and Kashmir, Union Home Minister Amit Shah assured that the government will provide all necessary resources needed to achieve the goal of ‘Terror Free Jammu and Kashmir’ at the earliest, aligning with “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Zero Tolerance Policy against terrorism”.

“He (Amit Shah) said that the Modi government, with the joint efforts of all security forces, is committed to establishing complete dominance over terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir,” a statement by the Ministry of Home Affairs noted. 

Shah said the unprecedented participation of J&K in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections shows that the people of the UT have “full faith in the country’s democracy”.  He lauded the security agencies for a “significant decline” in terror and infiltration-related incidents and recruitment of youths in terrorist organisations.

Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi, National Investigation Agency Director General Sadanand Date, BSF Chief Daljeet Singh Chawdhary were among others who attended the security-review meeting.

Earlier this year, the government had decided to go ahead with holding the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, while it rested key powers in the UT with the L-G until the statehood was formally granted. These powers included taking decisions on on police, officers of All-India Services such as the IAS and the IPS, and giving sanction for prosecution in various cases. 

The L-G was also given the power to decide on matters related to the  appointment of the advocate general and other law officers, as well as issues related to the anti-corruption bureau.

Sources had told ABP News that the governemnt wants to “run Jammu and Kashmir like Delhi or Puducherry”, where key powers will be with the L-G. “Unless the government is satisfied with the security situation there, J&K will not get statehood,” they added.

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