October 28, 2025

Srinagar woke up to bold words from former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday! He spilled the beans about his slowly fading hopes for restoring statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. "I was hopeful from day one, but that hope is diminishing," he said, looking serious. When asked about his next move if statehood isn’t restored, he cheekily responded, "Let's get to that point first. We will talk then." When reporters tried to pin him down on rumors about his resignation if statehood isn't renewed soon, Abdullah shut it down firmly: "I am not going to say anything about that. I have nothing more to say on that." The fiery politician didn’t hold back while talking about the Union Territory setup. "If there were no obstacles in governance in a UT set up, am I mad to seek statehood? If it were easy in a UT, then all states would have sought to be a UT," he quipped. He pointed out the issues like departments not under elected leaders’ control and the Centre delaying approval of business rules tied to governance. Omar also slammed the Public Safety Act slapped on AAP MLA Mehraj Malik, calling it "unjustified." He questioned, "We have a Union minister who branded the entire Muslim community disloyal. If he got away with it, what wrong did Mehraj Malik do?" Issues with the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Speaker stopped statehood from being openly discussed. Omar remarked on the mystery in BJP’s 28 MLAs stand: "They sought votes on statehood, but the Centre did not restore it." He shot back at BJP’s claims that his government ignored flood-hit Jammu areas, saying decisions will be based on loss, not religion. He pointed fingers at BJP for excluding Muslims from central governance, noting, "BJP today has not a single Muslim member in the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha." On the political front, Budgam’s upcoming bypolls are causing head-scratching worries. Abdullah said, "Internal politics has increased the complexities." He blamed previous local representatives for poor development but promised, "If they could not do it; we will do it." In a lighter moment, he respected senior party leader Mian Altaf Ahmad’s advice to be careful with statements, joking that, "My father also tells me the same." However, on criticism by another colleague, Ruhullah, he refused to comment, saying, "There is a vast difference between the two." Omar Abdullah's candid talk reveals the tough road ahead on J&K’s statehood and political challenges. One thing is clear: the drama in Kashmir’s politics is far from over!

Read More at Economictimes →

Tags: Omar abdullah, Jammu and kashmir, Statehood restoration, Psa, Bjp mlas, Budgam bypolls,