SRINAGAR: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday accused the BJP MLAs of creating ruckus in the legislative assembly so as to avoid voting in favour of restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
Talking to reporters inside the assembly premises after Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather adjourned the house for 30 minutes, Abdullah said the resolution he tabled in the house was not for greater autonomy or special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
Referring to the unruly scenes and sloganeering by the BJP MLAs, the chief minister said, “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.”
The tabling of the resolution in the assembly led to ugly scenes in the house and even fistfights among the MLAs.
Abdullah said he did not seek a vote on the resolutions passed by legislative assembly on June 26, 2000 on restoration of greater autonomy under the Indian Constitution or on November 6, 2024 for the restoration of special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
“Today, no one is asking them to vote on Article 370. Today, no one is asking them to vote on Jammu and Kashmir’s special position or special status or autonomy. Those resolutions have already been passed; they are the property of the house,” he said.
The chief minister said the fresh resolution he tabled in the house on Friday does not subsume the previous resolutions.
“We are not bringing those resolutions back for a vote; the house has already passed them. Today, we are asking for a vote from the BJP solely and exclusively on statehood, and they are not ready to vote on statehood,” he added.
Abdullah said he brought the resolution as the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly represents the voice of the people.
“We wanted a resolution to be passed here and sent to the Government of India, stating that Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood should be restored immediately,” he added.
Abdullah also referred to BJP MLA Sham Lal Sharma’s remarks about the government having to be accountable for governance over past two years.
“I am ready. Bring the discussion on Monday; whatever our performance has been over the past two years, we will place everything before the house. And the difficulties we faced over these two years, the problems we ran into, the hardships we had to confront we will bring all of that forward as well. And after that, we hope the house votes on this resolution, and we will send this resolution to the central government,” he said.
On the BJP’s charge that the resolution was “anti-national”, the chief minister said that asking for statehood does not make one anti-national.
“Show me one anti-national word used in this resolution. Show me one unconstitutional word we have used. We are simply saying that the Centre must immediately restore full and complete statehood to Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
The chief minister said he had to mention those earlier resolutions as he did not want anyone to fall prey to any misunderstanding.
“Tomorrow, you might say, ‘Look, they abandoned those resolutions and brought this one instead.’ That is why we said ‘in addition’ meaning those resolutions remain property of the house. We are not touching those resolutions; they stand in their place. But today, we are bringing a separate resolution on statehood, one that does not dilute earlier resolutions,” he added.
Abdullah said if the BJP wants the previous resolutions replaced, they should bring a resolution in the house to this effect.
“Let them bring a resolution during this debate to reject them, to wipe them out. If they get the votes for it, who am I to object? That is what democracy demands,” he said.
Abdullah said the people of Jammu and Kashmir have seen that if anyone is an obstacle to restoring statehood, it is the 29 BJP MLAs.
“They contested elections in the name of statehood. Restoring statehood was a major promise in their manifesto. They constantly remind us of our manifesto, yet they don’t remember their own! So today, I tell them again: whatever you want to say, say it inside the house.
“Let the house run in order, hold a debate, and say what you wish; we will answer. After that, vote on statehood. Don’t abstain, don’t walk out, don’t create a ruckus, cast your vote! If you support statehood, vote ‘yes’; if you oppose statehood, vote ‘no’. Let the people know,” he said.
Asked about the need to bring the resolution when his Cabinet has passed a similar resolution two years ago, Abdullah said two years is a very long time to make people of Jammu and Kashmir wait for statehood.
“Clearly, the voice of the Cabinet was not considered to be the voice of the people. Therefore, since the legislature represents the entire spectrum of political opinion in Jammu and Kashmir… The Cabinet only represents the ruling party, but the legislature represents parties that are not part of the government,” he said.
The chief minister said the demand for statehood was not for the government, his party or his family, but for entire Jammu and Kashmir.
“That is why we brought this resolution to the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, so that in one single voice, we tell the central government to restore the status of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir immediately,” he said.
Asked about Congress MLAs being comfortable with the resolution, Abdullah said he is glad about it.
“They (Congress) know there is nothing unconstitutional about this resolution. All this resolution seeks to do is to take the voice of the assembly of Jammu and Kashmir and send it to New Delhi. We want that full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir be restored immediately. We want that this voice go from the assembly,” he said.
