Solution to J&K’s issues lies in statehood restoration
STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday ordered the restoration of the ‘Darbar’ move tradition in the Union Territory, fulfilling his promise to the people of the Jammu region.
The Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha-led administration had scrapped the ‘Darbar’ move tradition in 2021.
“Today, I have personally signed the official file, and I hope that the order will be issued soon. We are restoring the old tradition of the Darbar Move,” Abdullah told reporters here while marking one year of his government in Jammu and Kashmir.
He added, “We promised the people that we would restore the ‘Darbar’ move. The Cabinet has taken a decision regarding its restoration and sent it to the Lieutenant Governor. The LG has signed and returned the file.”
Taking a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Abdullah said, “Why was the Darbar Move stopped? It had been a long-standing tradition. Those who used to accuse us of not understanding the history of Jammu and Kashmir before 1947, and of not respecting the great personalities of the region – let it be known that no one has damaged their legacy more than the BJP.”
Opposition parties and traders had been strongly advocating for the restoration of the Darbar Move for years.
The Chief Minister said solution to all issues facing Jammu and Kashmir lies in the restoration of statehood, as he urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to fulfil his promise for the same made to the people of the Union territory.
“We were hopeful that the Centre would fulfil its promise to restore statehood (to J-K) in the first year of our government, but it has not happened,” Abdullah said, as he urged the Modi government to fulfil its promise made to the people of the Union territory from the floor of Parliament and the Supreme Court.
“Heading a government in a UT is a different experience. We were hoping that the Centre would fulfil its promise on statehood, but it has not happened yet. But we will not back down from our efforts.
“We still believe that the solution to all the problems facing Jammu and Kashmir lies in the restoration of statehood,” Abdullah told reporters at the NC headquarters here.
Urging the prime minister to keep his promise on statehood, Abdullah said, “Once again, I would like to urge the government of India, the Prime Minister and his entire team to fulfil the promise made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.”
The Chief Minister said he took over the reins of the government one year ago, and it is making all out efforts to improve the lives of the people by speeding up developmental works.
“We have made a start. Be it the political promises we made to the people to bring a resolution in the Assembly on the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, or to get a resolution approved in the Cabinet for the restoration of statehood — we did both things,” he said.
Referring to the demand of the opposition parties to make public the NC government’s one year report card, Abdullah said when his party sought votes from people, it emphasised that the government will last not just for six months or one year, but for a full five-year term.
“Like I said in the Assembly, if you have to judge us on the basis of our manifesto, do it after the government completes its full five-year term because no government fulfils all its promises in six months or one year,” he said.
The NC government is “absolutely committed” to the promises made to the people and it will submit a report card after completing five years in office, he added.
