Union minister of law and justice Arjun Ram Meghwal on Tuesday said the Centre would take a call on restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood soon, prompting chief minister Omar Abdullah to express hope that the issue would not be delayed any further.
Meghwal said the issue of statehood restoration was a sensitive matter and involved due process. “I think you will get to hear the decision soon,” the central minister said, but offered no time limit.
“This issue is very sensitive. But when our home minister has said in the Lok Sabha that you will get that right, then you will get it,” he said while responding to questions from reporters in Srinagar.
Meghwal was in the Jammu and Kashmir capital to attend a regional workshop on tele-law activities at Sher-i-Kashmir
International Convention Centre (SKICC).
Omar, who also attended the event, said: “The minister said that we might hear some good news soon. We have been waiting for that good news for a year and a half. We hope that we do not have to wait
any longer.”
Omar said his government would not rest until statehood was restored to Jammu and Kashmir, adding that continuous engagement with the Centre was underway despite delays in the process. “None of us will be satisfied until we get it. Now, the process is going on,” he said.
The chief minister said the process had already taken a lot of time. “We were hoping that we would have got it by now. We did not get it. But we have not given up hope,” he said.
Jammu and Kashmir lost its special status and was bifurcated into two Union Territories in 2019.
Although Ladakhi Buddhists initially cheered the decision, they have since been campaigning for statehood and special status. The Centre had promised to restore the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir soon but it remains a pipedream even after six years.
The elected government led by Omar has repeatedly urged the Centre to fulfil its commitment.