CM Omar Reaffirms Commitment to Statehood, Says Performance to Be Judged After Five Years

SRINAGAR: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said that the government couldn’t have done better than this under the prevalent situation in Jammu and Kashmir. He was addressing a news conference after the completion of the government’s one year in office.

The Chief Minister said that it would make no sense to remain satisfied with the government’s work done in the past one year as ultimately, it is the people who will decide after the completion of five years through their votes. “We want the people to be satisfied with our work. I believe we couldn’t have done better under these circumstances, but we will do much better in the future,” he said.

He said that the people can judge this government after the completion of five years. “The mandate has not been given to us for a period of ten months or a year. We have been given five years to serve. No government can fulfil all the promises in just one year’s period,” he said, adding that the government has fulfilled its promise of passing the resolution in the cabinet and bringing it to the Assembly.

He added that regarding the regularisation of daily wagers, the government has already started work in this regard, and only today, the Education Department has regularised 860 CPWs, who were earlier working on meagre remuneration. “We are sticking to our promises and all of them will be fulfilled in the five years. The report card on all the promises made by the government will be before the people,” he said.

He said that working in the Union Territory is a different experience. “We were expecting the restoration of statehood in the first year of governance, but we will not stop here and will continue to fight for it,” he said.

The Chief Minister also added that he believes all the issues can be resolved once statehood is restored. “I want to appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to fulfil the promises made with the people in Parliament and in the Supreme Court over the restoration of statehood,” he said.

He added that all the means and ways are open for them to seek the restoration of statehood, but he believes that these issues cannot be resolved and achieved by issuing threats and other things. “We are still hoping that the promises will be fulfilled without bloodshed and other ways,” the Chief Minister said.

The Chief Minister, while replying to a query, said that it would be unfortunate to deny people their right to statehood due to the BJP’s defeat here. “The Centre had not promised statehood restoration only when BJP came to power. They had promised delimitation, elections, and then statehood. There were no Ifs and Buts,” he said.

“If we are being forced to take them along in the government, then I want to make it clear that statehood is not going to be restored in the next four years. We will not allow BJP to come into power,” he said.

Regarding the reservation issue, the Chief Minister said that in yesterday’s cabinet meeting, the Cabinet Sub Committee submitted its final report and it has been approved by the cabinet. “The Social Welfare Department has been asked to prepare a cabinet memo, which will be sent to the cabinet ministers for necessary action and subsequently sent to the Lieutenant Governor for approval. We hope the process will be completed in the next 3-4 days,” he added.

The Chief Minister said that the alliance between National Conference and Congress is intact. “There are no differences. I met the Congress General Secretary in New Delhi and told him that it would be 3 and 1 in the Rajya Sabha elections. The fourth seat for Congress could have helped to get votes from other legislators,” he said, adding that talks with Congress are going on over by-elections on the Nagrota and Budgam seats. “We are ready to give Congress the Nagrota seat if they have a better candidate,” he said.

About the government’s measures post floods in Jammu and Kashmir, the Chief Minister said that through SDRF and CM Relief Fund, the government has done everything possible according to the guidelines.

He added that regarding reconstruction and other issues, the Centre has sent teams who assessed the situation. “We are expecting a comprehensive package for Jammu and Kashmir to repair the losses as more than 300 roads got damaged, many bridges collapsed, crops were destroyed, and houses got damaged,” he said.

Omar also said that the government is in the process of ensuring 5 marla land for the people under the existing government scheme, for those who lost their houses along with land. “The process is on and we expect that the papers will reach the cabinet soon and those who lost the land will get 5 marlas and further assistance for reconstruction of the houses,” he said.

Moreover, he said that the government has sought assistance from the Centre to conduct a survey to identify the areas prone to cloudbursts and assess the situation here, keeping in view topography, climate, and other factors, so that the government can stay prepared for the future.

Regarding the support from bureaucrats, he said it would not have been possible for the government to perform without the support of these officers. However, he said, “Not all officers are the same; some are willing to work and they do, while others are not, and they choose not to.”

Asked about Mehbooba Mufti’s statement over PDP’s support to the NC candidate in Rajya Sabha elections, the Chief Minister said Dr Farooq Abdullah talked to her and sought the party’s support to fight against BJP in the elections. “If the vote is not cast in our favour, then it will benefit BJP, and abstaining from it is also akin to supporting BJP. However, as far as her conditions are concerned, it is the Speaker who has to decide on the bills. Nobody other than the Speaker can decide over it. Once it comes in the Assembly, we will have no issues to create hurdles on it,” he said. (KNO)