Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday expressed optimism about the restoration of statehood, saying, “I believe that time has come now.”
Asked if he had raised the issue during his meeting with Home Minister of India Amit Shah in Delhi earlier this week, Abdullah said the process of statehood restoration was underway and urgently needed to be taken to its logical conclusion, PTI reported.
When the Supreme Court upheld the GoI’s decision of abrogating Article 370, it made a general mention about statehood being restored ‘as soon as possible’, he said.
The GoI abrogated Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and reorganised the erstwhile state into the Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh in 2019.
“It was discussed as soon as possible and that was over a year ago. We feel that time has arrived now,” Abdullah said in an exclusive interview with PTI Videos.
The chief minister also said he had a ‘very good conversation’ with the home minister. “It’s part of an ongoing conversation and I am very hopeful that statehood will be restored soon.”
