Home Minister Amit Shah assures CM Omar Abdullah statehood for J&K soon: Report

The Union government is likely to initiate the process of restoring statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, five years after the erstwhile state was bifurcated into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has assured Chief Minister Omar Abdullah the centre's full support to the newly elected government, a report in NDTV said quoting sources. Omar met Shah in Delhi on Wednesday.

"The meeting that lasted half an hour was held in a very cordial atmosphere. The home minister assured the centre's full support to the newly elected government and to initiate the process of restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir," the NDTV report quoted a source as saying.

Abdullah-led J&K cabinet passed a resolution demanding the restoration of statehood in its first cabinet meeting held last week.

Abdullah to meet PM Modi

Abdullah is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday and submit a copy of the resolution to him as well. The resolution also emphasises on the J&K government's commitment to protect the identity and constitutional rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Following the scrapping of Article 370 in August 2019, Jammu and Kashmir was downgraded to a UT.

Elections for the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly were held in three phases, from September 18 to October 1, resulting in the formation of a government by the National Conference-Congress alliance.

Before taking the oath, Omar Abdullah had said that the first task of his government would be to become the voice of the people. Earlier, Congress leader P Chidambaram had also expressed that ‘first task of the new government should be to demand the restoration of statehood to J-K’, and all the INDIA parties should support it.