Omar Abdullah Moves Resolution Seeking Full Statehood For Jammu And Kashmir

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday moved a resolution in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly seeking the immediate and urgent restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, calling on the Government of India to fulfil its commitment to the people of the Union Territory.

The resolution was brought during the ongoing Autumn Session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly in Srinagar. It seeks to reinforce the resolutions already adopted by the House on June 26, 2000, and November 6, 2024.

According to the resolution, in continuation of the earlier decisions of the House, the Assembly calls upon the Government of India to take immediate steps for the restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. It further resolves that the resolution be forwarded to the Government of India.

Moving the resolution in the House, Omar Abdullah appealed to members from across the political spectrum to support it unanimously. He said the demand for statehood should not be seen through the prism of party politics.

The Chief Minister stressed that statehood is an issue concerning the entire population of Jammu and Kashmir. For that reason, he said, the resolution should receive collective support from the House and should not be treated as a matter limited to any one party, side or section of the Assembly.

Omar Abdullah said the people had already taken part in the electoral process. He expressed hope that the restoration of statehood would now follow the completion of the other commitments made in relation to Jammu and Kashmir.

Referring to the sequence of delimitation, elections and restoration of statehood, the Chief Minister said the first two processes had already been completed. He said the final step, the restoration of statehood, remained pending.

He noted that the people of Jammu and Kashmir participated in the elections voluntarily. He said they expected the promised restoration of statehood to follow after delimitation and elections had been completed.

Omar Abdullah said the issue of restoration of statehood had been raised repeatedly with the Government of India through different platforms. He said the Assembly was once again formally placing the demand before the Centre.

Referring to statements made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the restoration of statehood, Omar Abdullah said the commitment made to the people should now be honoured. He underlined that the demand was not restricted to the ruling benches or the Opposition.

The Chief Minister said statehood belongs to the entire Jammu and Kashmir. He described it as an issue that goes beyond political divisions within the Assembly and concerns the whole region.

During his intervention, Omar Abdullah also referred to areas of administration to underline what he described as the limitations faced by the elected government under the present arrangement.

He cited the Power Development Corporation as one example. He said that despite holding the portfolios of Chief Minister and Power Minister, the elected government does not exercise the same degree of control over the corporation that would exist under a full-fledged state structure.

The Chief Minister also referred to the functioning of SKIMS. He said that although the elected government provides financial support to the institution, several important decisions concerning the premier healthcare institution are not entirely within the government’s authority.

Omar Abdullah said there were several other examples which he intended to place before the House during the detailed discussion on the resolution. He used these examples to point to the administrative limitations that, according to him, flow from the existing arrangement.

Clarifying the purpose of the fresh resolution, Omar Abdullah said it was not meant to replace, dilute or invalidate the earlier resolutions passed by the Assembly.

He said the latest resolution had been deliberately drafted as an addition to the previous resolutions. He added that it would reaffirm the House’s continued demand for the restoration of full statehood.

According to the Chief Minister, the earlier resolutions would continue to remain part of the Assembly’s record. The fresh resolution, he said, would add another formal expression of the House’s demand before the Government of India.

Omar Abdullah also rejected speculation about any possible partial restoration of statehood. He said Jammu and Kashmir had been promised full statehood and that the demand before the Centre was for restoration of the complete status, not a truncated arrangement.

The Chief Minister said the people of Jammu and Kashmir should not be offered a diluted version of statehood. He reiterated that the elected government was seeking full restoration of statehood.

His intervention repeatedly framed statehood as a collective demand of Jammu and Kashmir rather than a partisan issue. He appealed to all members of the Legislative Assembly to view the matter in that spirit.

Omar Abdullah said the House had already placed its position on record through earlier resolutions, including those adopted on June 26, 2000, and November 6, 2024. The new resolution, he indicated, was being moved to strengthen and continue that position.

He said the Assembly’s demand should be clearly communicated to the Government of India through the resolution. The text of the resolution calls on the Centre to take immediate steps for restoration of full statehood and provides for it to be forwarded to the Government of India.

The Chief Minister’s appeal for unanimity came with the argument that statehood affects governance and public life across Jammu and Kashmir. He said it should therefore be supported collectively by representatives in the House.

By pointing to the sequence of delimitation, elections and restoration of statehood, Omar Abdullah sought to emphasise that the process had already moved through two stages. His position was that the remaining step, restoration of full statehood, should now be taken without delay.

He also linked the demand to the participation of people in the electoral process. He said people had participated voluntarily in the elections and expected the commitment on statehood to be fulfilled.

The resolution was moved in the ongoing Autumn Session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly. It places before the House a formal demand for the immediate and urgent restoration of full statehood and asks that the same be sent to the Government of India.

Concluding his intervention, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah called upon all members of the Legislative Assembly to participate in the discussion and extend support to the resolution.

He maintained that a unanimous expression of the House would show that the demand for restoration of full statehood is a collective issue concerning Jammu and Kashmir as a whole. He said it should not be seen as a matter confined to any particular political party or section of the Assembly.