Srinagar, Sep 25: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday accused BJP MLAs of creating a ruckus in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly to evade voting on a resolution seeking immediate restoration of statehood to the Union Territory.
Talking to reporters in the assembly premises after Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather adjourned the House for 30 minutes following unruly scenes and fistfights among MLAs, Abdullah said that the fresh resolution tabled by him did not dilute earlier resolutions on greater autonomy or special status but to have one voice for restoration of statehood.
"You saw how the BJP reacted to this. Because they simply do not want to vote on statehood. They want to back out of this vote under one pretext or another," Abdullah said.
Addressing the uproar, Abdullah emphasised that the House was not being asked to vote on Article 370 or special status, as those resolutions passed on June 26, 2000, and November 6, 2024, were already the property of the House.
The erstwhile state assembly had passed a resolution moved by the then government headed by Farooq Abdullah on June 26, 2000 seeking restoration of greater autonomy as existed before August 9, 1953. On November 6, 2024, the assembly of the Union Territory had passed a resolution seeking the restoration of special status.
"Today, no one is asking them to vote on Article 370... or special status or autonomy. We are asking for a vote from the BJP solely and exclusively on statehood, and they are not ready," he said.
Refuting the BJP's allegations that the measure was "anti-national", Abdullah challenged the Opposition to point out any unconstitutional language in the text.
"We are simply saying that the Centre must immediately restore full and complete statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. Show me one anti-national word used in this resolution," he added.
On BJP MLA Sham Lal Sharma's demands for accountability regarding governance over the past two years, Abdullah said he was prepared for a debate on Monday to place the government's performance, along with the difficulties faced, before the House prior to a vote.
"I am ready. Bring the discussion on Monday; whatever our performance has been over the past two years, we will place everything before the house. And the difficulties we faced over these two years, the problems we ran into, the hardships we had to confront -- ”we will bring all of that forward as well. And after that, we hope the house votes on this resolution, and we will send this resolution to the central government," he said.
Reiterating that the assembly represents the collective voice of the people beyond the ruling party cabinet, Abdullah urged the 29 BJP legislators to participate in the debate rather than disrupting proceedings.
"Don't abstain, don't walk out, don't create a ruckus, cast your vote! If you support statehood, vote 'yes'; if you oppose statehood, vote 'no'. Let the people know," he said.
He said the BJP MLAs were elected to the house as they had contested in the name of statehood. "They constantly remind us of our manifesto, yet they don't remember their own! So today, I tell them again: whatever you want to say, say it inside the house," he said.
Responding to queries on Congress support, the Chief Minister expressed satisfaction, saying that the Congress MLAs recognised there was nothing unconstitutional about sending a unified legislative demand to New Delhi.
Defending the decision to mention previous resolutions, Abdullah said he had to mention that as he did not want anyone to fall prey to any misunderstanding.
"Tomorrow, you might say, 'Look, they abandoned those resolutions and brought this one instead.' That is why we said 'in addition' -- ”meaning those resolutions remain property of the house. We are not touching those resolutions; they stand in their place. But today, we are bringing a separate resolution on statehood, one that does not dilute earlier resolutions," he added.
Asked about the need to bring the resolution when his cabinet had passed a similar resolution two years ago, Abdullah said two years is a very long time to make the people of Jammu and Kashmir wait for statehood.
"Clearly, the voice of the Cabinet was not considered to be the voice of the people. Therefore, since the legislature represents the entire spectrum of political opinion in Jammu and Kashmir... The Cabinet only represents the ruling party, but the legislature represents parties that are not part of the government," he said.
