JK Statehood Must Be Restored For Constitutional Respect, Says Farooq Abdullah

Veteran politician and president of National Conference, Farooq Abdullah, has said if the Constitution of the country has to be respected, statehood for Jammu and Kashmir should be restored and that the recent Pahalgam terror attack could have been prevented had the local government been in charge of the security.

"It's not a question of being hopeful," Abdullah said in reply to a query about the growing demand for the restoration of statehood in the Union Territory.

"If the Constitution of India is to be respected, states are never converted into UTs. A UT is converted into a state. The tragedy is that they converted a state into a UT. And what did they achieve?" he told PTI here recently.

Abdullah recalled that "promises" were made when Article 370 was abrogated six years ago on August 5, 2019, that "terrorism would disappear".

"Has militancy disappeared? Or has it increased?" he said, adding, "The Centre should answer this in the parliament".

Abdullah said that the people were "expecting" that statehood for Jammu and Kashmir would be announced soon. "Already, all the opposition parties are fighting for us also in the Parliament...You have seen recently, (Congress President Mallikarjun) Kharge and Rahul Gandhi's letter to the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) asking that the statehood must be restored." Abdullah recalled that the central government has made promises "to us in Parliament and also committed themselves in the Supreme Court".

The veteran politician, who has been the chief minister of the erstwhile state three times and also a Union Minister, questioned the Centre's motive behind "downgrading" the state.

"And what did they achieve? When they did this, they said that the militancy would die because 370 is responsible for militancy. For the last six years, they have been ruling for all 5 years before the election came. "And even today, they are in control of the security and all the rest. Has militancy disappeared? Or has it increased?" he asked.

Reflecting on the current situation, Abdullah lamented the lack of control the elected government has over security and administrative matters and went on to say that the recent Pahalgam terror attack could have been prevented had a local government been in charge of the security.

Referring to admission by the Lieutenant Governor admitting security failure for Pahalgam, Abdullah said, "I am glad the Lt Governor has accepted his failure. He should have had the courage to resign." Abdullah pointed out the glaring silence from Jammu and Kashmir in the Rajya Sabha as four seats remain vacant, terming it a "tragedy".

"Why was Jammu and Kashmir denied election to the Rajya Sabha?" he said. "Not only that, two seats are vacant in the Assembly. What is the Election Commission doing?" The National Conference chief dismissed talk of internal discord in the party.

"This party is a democratic party. It is not like the BJP, which has become an autocratic party. Here people have the right to speak what they want," he said while answering a question about the difference of opinion between the party and Srinagar MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi.

On Pakistan's role, Abdullah's stance was firm. "Pakistan is not going to give up. Therefore, what is the way forward? War is never a solution to any problem," he said.

He advocated for a peaceful solution that would be "honourable for India, honourable for Pakistan, and honourable for the people of Jammu and Kashmir".

To a question about separatist leader Bilal Lone announcing joining the mainstream, he said, "I am very glad, very happy that they have realised that J-K is a part of India", and expressed the hope that the leader could now contribute to the welfare of the people after "years spent in the wilderness".