J&K statehood: Omar steps up pressure as Delhi indicates decision 'soon'

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah.

• Efforts to restore Jammu and Kashmir's statehood are ongoing
• Omar Abdullah: Talks with Centre ongoing, hopes for swift decision
• Minister Meghwal: Statehood restoration decision imminent

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Pointing that efforts are in motion to reinstate statehood for Jammu and Kashmir, chief minister Omar Abdullah acknowledged on Tuesday that the process has been slower than expected. He added that talks with the Centre remain ongoing and voiced optimism that a decision on restoring full statehood may come soon.

“The process is underway, and the process has taken more time. We had hoped that by now, statehood would have been granted, but we have not yet given up hope. We are continuously talking to the central government about this matter…now we hope that we won’t have to wait much longer for this…,” the chief minister said.

Jammu and Kashmir was reorganised as a Union Territory in August 2019 after the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two UTs -- Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Since then, political parties across the region have persistently sought the restoration of statehood.

Omar Abdullah, who assumed office on October 16, 2024, has repeatedly raised the issue. Last year, he wrote to the presidents of 42 political parties, urging them to press the Centre to bring a legislation in the Parliament to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, saying it must not be viewed as a concession, but as an essential course correction.

He said that downgrading a state to a Union Territory sets a "profound and unsettling" precedent and is a "constitutional red line" that "must never be crossed".

"The restoration must not be viewed as a concession, but as an essential course correction -- one that prevents us from sliding down a dangerous and slippery slope where the statehood of our constituent states is no longer regarded as a foundational and sacred constitutional right but reduced instead to a discretionary favour bestowed at the will of the Central Government," the letter said.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, union minister of law and justice Arjun Meghwal said statehood to Jammu and Kashmir would be restored soon.

"You will get it but there is a process for it. I feel you will soon get to hear about a decision in this regard," he said, after attending a function at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar.