Committed to restoring J&K statehood, says PM Modi at all-party meet

Pledging to bridge the distance between ‘dil’ (heart) of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and Dilli (dil aur Dilli ki doori), Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi made an emotional closing speech to 14 leaders of parties in J&K. He promised that Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s approach of  insaniyat (humaneness), jamhooriyat (democracy) and Kashmiriyat (the Kashmiri identity) would be the guiding principles in the governance and administration of the Union Territory (UT).

The meeting lasted three and a half hours and the PM heard everyone before committing himself to some assurances: that the next steps in the region would be on the basis of consensus and respect for all views; that moves towards democracy (i.e., elections to the Assembly and eventually statehood) and development of the region would continue apace; and that the sacrifices made by the people in rooting out terrorism will not have been in vain.

Farooq Abdullah overtly flagged a return to the pre-5 August 2019 status of J&K when Article 370 was written down. In an emotional speech he spoke about the loss of trust. 

"We requested the PM that our fight will continue, but it's essential to reverse some decisions that aren't at all in the interest of J&K. It was given the status of a UT, people don't like it. They want full statehood for J&K with J&K cadre restored," ANI quoted Omar Abdullah, National Conference leader, as saying.

Muzaffar Beigh, formerly of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who has now joined Sajjad Lone’s People’s Conference, reminded the gathering that the status of J&K was a matter before a constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court (SC).  “Rather than create an atmosphere around the possible outcome, we should let the SC address the matter and revert with the judgment. Till then, this issue should not be used to whip up sentiment” he said. 

Later, he told reporters: “All leaders demanded statehood. To which the PM said, the delimitation process should conclude first and then other issues will be addressed. It was a satisfactory meeting. There was complete unanimity for restoring peace in J&K.”

Senior Congress leader and former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad who opened the meeting (the PM asked Abdullah to begin but he deferred to Azad) told reporters the party raised the issue of the restoration of statehood, the question of Assembly polls, protection of the land rights of the people of J&K, the return of Kashmiri Pandits, and the release of political prisoners.

Mehbooba Mufti echoed some of these concerns, but added that the government must restart a dialogue with Pakistan, partly in the interests of restarting border trade. Without actually saying Pakistan was a stakeholder in events relating to J&K, she said New Delhi must engage Islamabad, in the same way it engages with other countries. She also said prisoners must be released to instil confidence and restore trust.

Home Minister Amit Shah gave facts and figures about those who are in prison. He has set up a committee under Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Manoj Sinha to review the cases of those in jail. But, he said, many of the prisoners had been convicted in criminal cases like murder, rape, terror funding, and money laundering. Shah reiterated the Centre’s faith in democracy and said elections would be held but delimitation was a prerequisite to holding polls.

All parties had praise for the role played by the L-G. a presentation was made about all the development efforts that have already been taken and those that are in the pipeline. 

Among the projects is rail connectivity between Srinagar and the rest of India by next year; industrial development of J&K, 100 per cent electrification of all districts and drinking water in most, and extensive fortification of the health infrastructure with two AIIMS institutions in the pipeline, along with medical colleges. Several oxygen plants have been set up and vaccinations against Covid are progressing apace.