From the utterances and confidence of the chief minister Omar Abdullah, it appears that the restoration of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir is around the corner. Speaking to administrative secretaries in Srinagar on Monday, Abdullah said that he had “had successful meetings” during his recent visit to Delhi to hand over the resolution on statehood passed by his cabinet to the prime minister Narendra Modi. He told the officials that he had received “assurances at the highest level that the commitments made to Jammu and Kashmir, particularly with regard to our governance model, will change.”
Although the CM mentioned this in the context of the warning to bureaucrats against exploiting the existing hybrid system, his remarks have renewed debate about the prospect of early reinstatement of statehood. There is now hope that J&K could get statehood in the near future
Centre had abrogated Article 370 in August 2019, stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its special status and reorganizing the region into two Union Territories—Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. Both PM Modi and the home minister Amit Shah have already assured the restoration of statehood to J&K at an appropriate time. What, however, they have not given so far is a timeline. So, there is a section of people who believe that statehood might take longer than expected. And if and when statehood is restored, it is expected to be more or less a truncated one just like that of Delhi. Considering the troubled state of affairs prevailing in the UT, Centre, it is believed, is unlikely to let go of control on the security agencies and the allied security related matters, lest it unravel the gains made in recent years. The recent rise in militancy-related violence is likely to further dissuade the central government from handing over complete control over the region to an elected government. Should this happen, a future governor will continue to wield a strong say in the affairs of J&K.
While all of this is still in the realm of speculation, a hybrid system where an elected government will have no responsibility for security related issues may not be helpful beyond a point. System will only work better if the elected government is made accountable for all aspects of governance including security. J&K has always been a complex state and hence difficult to govern. A gubernatorial system may have its advantages in swifter decision-making but it is not known for nodding to the sentiment and sensitivities of people, thereby sowing alienation. An elected government, on the other hand, takes people along and thus its decisions have a better chance of success. Here’s hoping for an earlier restoration of full statehood where an elected government enjoys true power and is thus responsible for its actions.
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