‘UT with Assembly not workable system, J&K will become state again’
Srinagar: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said that accession of Jammu and Kashmir with India was to be formalized through a “plebiscite.”
In an interview to News 18, Omar according to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said, “If Article 370 was considered temporary and transitional, then Jammu and Kashmir’s accession with India was also subject to similar scrutiny.”
He criticized the unilateral abrogation of Article 370, stating, “It was scrapped without taking the people of Jammu and Kashmir on board. We had no role to play in it.”
He said that the provision was not time-bound, adding, “Transitional because the status of J&K had not been finalized. Why was it temporary and transitional? What was the promise made to the people?”
He further elaborated that the accession of J&K was meant to be formalized through a “plebiscite.”
“A permanent provision could not be inserted into the Constitution for a region whose permanent status was yet to be determined. Over time, we agreed that the accession was permanent and needed no ratification. But the framework that guaranteed this accession also needed to be permanent,” he said. “You called the framework temporary and the accession permanent.”
TALKS ABOUT MIRWAIZ GETTING CRPF COVER
Omar Abdullah admitted that the revocation of Article 370 led to a decline in separatist activities. “No one can deny that separatism has declined in J&K. No one had imagined that Mirwaiz Umar Farooq would be provided security by the CRPF.”
UT WITH ASSEMBLY NOT WORKABLE SYSTEM
Reflecting on the changes since his previous tenure as Chief Minister, Omar said, “Today’s J&K is different. There is a vast difference between governing a state with special status and a Union Territory. The difference between a state and a UT is like that between the sky and the earth.”
He expressed concern over the limitations of a UT with an assembly, calling it an ineffective system. “A UT with an assembly is not a workable system. If this system is so good, why not implement it in other states like Uttar Pradesh or Gujarat?” he questioned, adding that the present arrangement was “cheating the people.”