Srinagar, Feb 17: Union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal on Tuesday said that statehood to Jammu and Kashmir would be restored soon, drawing a swift response from Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who expressed hope that the wait would not be prolonged.
Speaking to reporters after attending a function at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) here, Meghwal termed the issue “very sensitive” and referred to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s earlier statement in the Lok Sabha that Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood would be restored.
“You will get it but there is a process for it. I feel you will soon get to hear about a decision in this regard,” Meghwal said.
Reacting to the remarks, Omar Abdullah, who was also present at the event, said he had heard on the sidelines that “good news” would be coming soon.
“It has been one and a half years of wait. We hope we do not have to wait much longer,” Abdullah told reporters.
The Chief Minister asserted that people of Jammu and Kashmir would not be satisfied until statehood is formally restored.
“The process is on, though it is taking longer. We were expecting to get it by now but we have not got it yet. We have not given up hope, we are talking to the Centre on it continuously,” he added.
Notably, while addressing the Lok Sabha on February 13, 2021, Amit Shah had stated that Jammu and Kashmir’s Union Territory status was temporary and that full statehood would be restored at an appropriate time.
On August 5, 2019, the Centre abrogated Article 370, which had accorded special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, and subsequently bifurcated it into two Union Territories — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
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