Centre should accord Statehood to J&K

The National Conference has come to power in J&K. Omar Abdullah has succeeded in scripting the victory of National Conference and won a comfortable majority. He knows that his second innings as the Chief Minister is not a bed of roses. He has enormous challenges to face. During his previous stint from 2008 to 2014, he was the chief minister of an empowered state. But today the situation is not so.

He is the Chief Minister who will have less power than most counterparts in India. Unless he succeeds in negotiating with the Center and gets statehood for J&K, there is every possibility that he may have to frequently lock horns with the Lt Governor in matters of law and order and a few other areas. It will become like another Delhi government where the state government and Lt Governor frequently clash with each other.

At present, the LG has the power to transfer IAS and IPS officers, even police and law and order, appointment of judicial officers, including the advocate general, Anti-Corruption Bureau, prosecution matters and prisons are under his ambit. Hence restoration of full statehood is necessary.

The biggest challenge for Omar is to deal with the central government and ensure that the statehood to J&K was restored. He has a crown of thorns which he knows very well.

One positive sign is that the BJP never said that statehood will not be accorded if BJP does not come to power. Omar on his part started on a positive note. He has been very careful in his statements. He expressed his wish that he wants to have a cordial relationship with Centre. He felt that the Centre too would be extending a helping hand. “It would need two hands to clap”—he said indicating that he expects the Centre to be helpful and cooperative. Statehood is a genuine demand which the Centre should honour at the earliest. Omar has said that the first resolution of the J&K Legislative Assembly will be on the restoration of statehood.

Problems might arise only if they make any attempt to revive the Article 370. This is part of the Congress agenda. Hopefully, he will steer clear of this policy of his alliance partner. One advantage is that NC has a majority on its own and Congress is not part of the government. Hence, he will have more flexibility in taking decisions and maintain cordial relations with the Union government. One only hopes that the Congress realises the ground reality.

The reality is that peace must be ensured in J&K. The situation that had improved after 2019 cannot be allowed to suffer. There is a need to give a boost to the economy and for that the security and administrative machinery need to work in close coordination. If there is no coordination between the Centre and the State, it will only help the anti-India forces and terrorists. The expectations of the people are scary as they are enormous. Another issue is the polarised verdict between Kashmir and Jammu. Omar will have to strive hard to win the confidence of Jammu where most of the Hindu community lives.