If Fresh Elections Are Needed for Statehood, We Are Ready: CM Omar Abdullah

Srinagar, KNT: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday reiterated his party’s unwavering commitment to the restoration of statehood, saying that if holding fresh elections is a precondition for granting statehood, he and his party are fully prepared to face the electorate once again.

“If re-elections are necessary for restoring statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, we have no objections. We are ready,” the Chief Minister said during an interaction with reporters in Srinagar. “Let the Centre not delay statehood by hiding behind excuses about Assembly schedules. It is the right of the people, not a political favour,” he added.

Omar Abdullah, whose party has long campaigned for the reversal of Jammu and Kashmir’s downgrade to a Union Territory in 2019, said statehood cannot be treated as a conditional promise or a bargaining tool. “It must be seen as a rightful restoration of what was taken away unilaterally,” he stressed.

He also rejected the notion that politicians are pushing for statehood for personal gain. “We are not seeking statehood to sit in power. Even if the Assembly has to be dissolved for statehood to be granted, I will make that recommendation myself,” Abdullah declared, underscoring that the demand was rooted in public interest, not political opportunism.

Responding to questions about recent speculations suggesting that the Union Government might link the restoration of statehood to the timing of Assembly elections, Omar Abdullah warned against further delays. “This is not a favour. This is a constitutional right. Let the Centre show the same urgency for statehood that it shows for elections elsewhere,” he said.

Meanwhile, sources within the National Conference said the party is prepared to gear up for a fresh electoral mandate if that clears the path for the long-awaited political restoration. “We are ready to go back to the people anytime,” a senior party leader said. [KNT