SRINAGAR: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday accused BJP legislators of disrupting proceedings in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly to avoid voting on a resolution seeking restoration of full statehood to the Union Territory.
Speaking to reporters after Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather adjourned the House for 30 minutes amid uproar, Abdullah said the resolution he introduced was confined to statehood and did not seek a fresh vote on the Assembly’s earlier resolutions concerning greater autonomy or special status.
Abdullah said the resolution was intended to convey the Assembly’s collectivae demand to the Government of India for the immediate restoration of full statehood. He maintained that the resolutions passed by the House in 2000 on greater autonomy and in 2024 on special status remained separate and were not being reopened for voting.
“Today, no one is asking them to vote on Article 370,” Abdullah said, adding that the fresh resolution did not subsume or dilute the earlier resolutions. He said if the BJP wanted those resolutions to be withdrawn or replaced, its members could introduce a separate resolution and seek the House’s vote.
The tabling of the resolution triggered heated exchanges and disruptions in the Assembly, with BJP members protesting the reference to the earlier autonomy resolution. The proceedings witnessed sloganeering and physical altercations among legislators before the Speaker ordered the adjournment.
Abdullah said the Assembly, unlike the Council of Ministers, represented the broader political spectrum of Jammu and Kashmir and therefore was the appropriate forum to send a collective message to the Centre on statehood. He argued that two years was too long for the people of Jammu and Kashmir to wait for restoration of statehood.
Responding to the BJP’s description of the resolution as “anti-national”, Abdullah challenged the party to identify any such wording in the text. He said the resolution simply called upon the Centre to restore full and complete statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
The Chief Minister also said he was prepared to face a discussion on the performance of his government over the past two years, in response to concerns raised by BJP MLA Sham Lal Sharma. He urged the BJP to allow the debate to proceed and then cast its vote on the statehood resolution rather than abstaining or disrupting proceedings.
Abdullah further said the demand for statehood was not limited to his government, party or family, but concerned Jammu and Kashmir as a whole. He said the resolution was intended to carry the voice of the elected Assembly to New Delhi.
On the Congress’ position, Abdullah said he welcomed its support for the resolution and maintained that there was nothing unconstitutional in the proposal. He said the objective was to have the Assembly formally convey its demand for restoration of full statehood to the Centre.
