National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said he is hopeful that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will do ‘remarkable work’ by restoring the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir.
“As a Union Territory, some things can be done and some things cannot be done but we hope that Jammu and Kashmir will not remain a Union Territory forever,” the National Conference vice-president told PTI-Video service. Will remain. We hope that the Honorable Prime Minister will do the honorable thing and restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir as soon as possible and then the rest of our manifesto will be implemented.”
Abdullah, who led the NC-Congress alliance to victory in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, expressed hope that the Prime Minister will fulfill his promise of restoring statehood to the people of the Union Territory.
He said, “The Prime Minister, the Home Minister are all respectable persons. Through his speeches in Parliament and through his representatives in the Supreme Court, he has promised to restore statehood. So I believe this should happen as soon as possible. And then obviously our priorities will move forward from there.”
Abdullah, in response to a question, said the Jammu and Kashmir government cannot afford to have hostile relations with the Centre. He said, “Once the new government is formed, no matter who is the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, I hope that he will go to Delhi to meet the Prime Minister, Home Minister and other leaders and explain to them that Jammu and Kashmir The mandate of the people of India is for restoration of statehood, development and peace and whoever the Chief Minister is, I am hopeful that he will be able to establish good working relations with the Government of India.
