Srinagar- As the speculations about assembly elections are making rounds in the Union Territory, the Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha said on Tuesday that only Parliament can restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
“Those who have taken statehood will return statehood. And only Parliament can do that. Prime Minister and Home Minister have spoken about this issue before the country and the people of Jammu and Kashmir in the Parliament,” Sinha said Tuesday.
He was responding to a query by a journalist on senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad’s demand seeking restoration of statehood before conduct of polls in the erstwhile state.
“They have said in the parliament that once the delimitation process is over, elections will be held and after that statehood will be restored,” the LG said, on the sidelines of an event organized by Jammu & Kashmir Trade Promotion Organisation (JKTPO), Department of Industries and Commerce, J&K in association with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) included Industrialist/ Investors from Eastern India, in Kolkata on Tuesday.
The LG’s reaction came a day after the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party said that the union territory’s statehood will be restored once the selective killings end and the common people are able to move freely here.
“When the situation in J-K becomes better, when it (situation) will be normal, the selective killings will end, and common people will be able to move freely, the statehood will then be restored,” BJP general secretary, organisation, Ashok Koul told reporters in north Kashmir’s Bandipora.
Hitting back, National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah said that target killings reflect “collective failure” of the Union Government and Jammu and Kashmir administration.
Reacting to Koul’s statement, Abdullah said, So the people of J&K will be punished, by having our statehood withheld, because of the collective failure of the Union Government & the J&K administration?
They fail to protect people, they fail to manage the security situation & the rest of us are punished. What an idea sir ji!,” Abdullah wrote on Twitter.
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