Omar seeks restoration of J&Ks Statehood, requires course correction

In a bid to garner assist for the restoration of Jammu & Kashmir’s Statehood, Chief Minister #Omar Abdullah on Tuesday (August 5, 2025) wrote to the heads of all nationwide political events, together with the #Bharatiya Janata Party and #Congress.

“Statehood is a promise made to the individuals of J&Ok in public conferences, within the #Parliament, and earlier than the Supreme Court. The concern ought to be raised within the #Parliament in order that the Bill is handed within the present session,” Mr. Abdullah mentioned.

Mr. Abdullah’s pitch for Statehood comes on the sixth anniversary of the abrogation of provisions of Article 370 in 2019. It additionally coincides with the rising demand from political events in J&Ok — corresponding to Peoples Democratic Party, #Congress, CPI(M), J&Ok Peoples Conference, J&Ok Apni Party and Awami Ittehad Party — to revive Statehood and the particular standing.

In the three-page letter, accessed by The Hindu, Mr. Abdullah described restoration of Statehood as “an important course correction”.

“Restoration of Statehood just isn’t a concession to J&Ok however a course correction that the very concept of India is undermined if the Statehood which is foundational and constitutional proper is decreased to the discretionary favour of the central authorities,” Mr. Abdullah wrote within the letter. 

The Chief Minister mentioned this “important course correction prevents us from sliding down a harmful and slippery slope the place the Statehood of our constituent States is now not considered a foundational and sacred constitutional proper however decreased as a substitute to a discretionary favour bestowed on the will of the Central Government”.

He mentioned the precedent set by downgrading a State to a #Union Territory can have unsettling penalties for the nation and it ought to be a “red-line… that mustn’t ever be crossed”.

“#Federalism is anchored within the recognition of a State’s proper to exist and performance with dignity, autonomy, and constitutional safety. If the Union had been to imagine and train the unilateral authority to downgrade a State to a #Union Territory-regardless of the justification, it might mark a elementary departure from the constitutional scheme,” the letter learn.

The circumstances might range, Mr. Abdullah mentioned, however the precedent it units is profound and unsettling. “The act of lowering J&Ok from a State to a UT in 2019 and the extended delay in restoring its standing as a full State you’d agree, has profound implications for the way forward for Indian polity,” he wrote.

Mr. Abdullah regretted within the letter that the Central authorities didn’t acknowledge the overwhelming participation of voters within the Assembly elections final yr and folks rising towards terrorism after the Pahalgam assault.

“These had been extraordinary alternatives to bolster nationwide unity and heal historic wounds. To permit such moments to pass-unacknowledged or unreciprocated attributable to slim partisan calculations, will, no doubt, be a monumental mistake” it mentioned. 

The letter mentions Mr. Abdullah’s transfer handy over the Cabinet’s decision on Statehood to the Prime Minister after taking up the reins of J&Ok final yr. 

“I used to be assured that Statehood could be restored. However, greater than 9 months have handed, and but there is no such thing as a readability, timeline, or seen progress towards fulfilling that solemn assurance. The centre’s dedication that UT was short-term seems to be extra as a handy alibi than a real dedication. It serves as a proverbial fig leaf for the judicial indulgence prolonged to what many view as a constitutionally and morally indefensible act. Only the power of ethical conviction can now pave the best way for the restoration of J&Ok’s Statehood,” the letter mentioned.