x

Like our Facebook Page

   
Early Times Newspaper Jammu, Leading Newspaper Jammu
 
Breaking News :   Wealth getting concentrated in hands of some rich: Gadkari | Srinagar records highest July temperature at 37.4 degrees | Satish Sharma monitors Shri Amarnathji Yatra convoy accident; ensures swift relief, medical response | Ensure quick resolution of public complaints: CM Yogi | DM visits Pargwal, reviews functioning of Revenue Department | Sakeena Itoo visits Nadimarg area | Waqf employees felicitate Dr Andrabi | Ajaz Jan visits District Hospital Poonch to Review Doctor Quarters, Identify Sites for Hospital Bunkers | Danger Looms in Udhampur: Unprotected Transformers Spark Safety Concerns | Sat Sharma releases "Raidass Vandana" aarti dedicated to Guru Ravidass | Kavinder meets former Jaipur Mayors, urges to join Amarnath Yatra | AIIMS Jammu Launches Neurosurgical Operative Services with Brain Tumor Surgery | Illegal structures used for bovine dumping demolished in Khanpura | I Hope To Live For 30-40 Years more: Dalai Lama | Election Commission holding regular dialogue with parties | Himachal becomes first state to launch Aadhaar-based face authentication | Interpretation Of Law, Constitution Has To Be Pragmatic: CJI Gavai | Rotary Club Jammu Elite celebrates Annapurna Day with Spirit of Service | 3 theft cases solved; 6 accused arrested | Director Forest Protection Force starts plantation drive | Two tractors seized for illegal mining | Javid Dar visits Nunwan base camp; inaugurates Waste Management facility | Bovine smuggling bid foiled; 5 bovines rescued | Railway Protection Force Bhopal takes swift action, accused arrested | 3-day Shri Sarthal Devi Ji Yatra culminates with Grand Shobha Yatra, Maha Yagya | SMVD Narayana Hospital performs Bilateral Knee Replacements in 88 years old patients | Doda police reunites mentally unsound person with his family | Free medical check-up camp organized | Directorate of Ayush mourns sad demise of Dr Tahir Mufti | 84 Bn CRPF helped in rescuing injured pilgrims of Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra | Renowned Heart Surgeon Dr Pankaj Goel joins Amandeep Group of Hospitals | Director Agriculture inaugurates Commercial Vermicompost Unit under HADP | Ravinder leads Congress protest in Sunderbani against SCARD bank , discrimination in road projects | Century of Sangh: RSS plans major outreach in J&K during Shatabdi celebrations | GOC interacts with veterans | Implement comprehensive safety measures for vehicles of pilgrims: LG Sinha to officers | 36 devotees sustain minor injuries after 5 buses collide in Ramban | ‘Op Sindoor Impact’: Bilawal Bhutto signals Pak’s willingness to hand over dreaded terrorists to India | Vijay Khanmotra elected Chairman Samba Photographers Union | CM Omar pays glowing tributes to Karbala martyrs | SIA files chargesheet in cross-border narco-terror case | Udhampur police seized 9 vehicles | Indian Army concludes Self Defense Training Workshop at Mendhar | Police register case over attempt to provoke unrest | Samba police seizes 4 dumpers for illegal mining | Nagrad deferred election | Decision on summer vacation extension today: Sakina Itoo | J&K Police attaches property | VC JU releases book “Happy Schools” emphasizing emotional well-being as core to education | ABRSM declares Kuldeep Kumar as new President of Zone Jourian | Parkash Purab of Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji Celebrated with Devotion | NC felicitates newly appointed Additional Spokespersons | DBU hosts FDP on emerging AI tools for Agriculture Scientists and Educators | Sunil Dimple demands bill for restoration of Dogra State | MCM celebrates Vanmahotsav with plantation drive under 'Ek Paed Maa ke Naam' | Children and parents in digital fasting may be away from these technical means | Temple of learning? | Preventing Zoonotic Diseases: A Shared Responsibility | Divine Grace in Sacred Himalayas | Back Issues  
 
news details
Will keep Article 370 issue alive: Omar Abdullah
4/13/2024 10:34:40 PM
Early Times Report

Srinagar, Apr 13: National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Saturday said the Supreme Court upholding the abrogation of Article 370 does not close the issue and his party will keep it alive till a dispensation comes at the Centre that is willing to discuss the restoration of special status to Jammu and Kashmir. “This government will not remain forever. There is no power on earth that can keep Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi in office in perpetuity, there is no power on earth that can keep the BJP in office forever. Every government has a finite term, some are longer, some are shorter. Why would you assume that no government will come in future that will be unwilling to talk to us on Article 370,” Abdullah told a wire agency in an interview here.
Abdullah, who is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from north Kashmir Baramulla constituency, said the Supreme Court verdict on petitions challenging abrogation of the Article 370 was unfortunate.
“I would like to believe that there will be a government in the future that will be happy to engage with us on our core issues of the special status of J-K and until that comes, we will keep our struggle alive,” he said.
“We will continue to fight for it and struggle for it. A stamp of the SC does not close the issue, because if a stamp closes the issue, then we had a stamp on Article 370 much before this one and the SC found in favour of Article 370. So, yes, the recent judgement is unfortunate, but that won’t stop our political fight,” the former J-K chief minister said.
He claimed that several opposition parties were also on the same page. “Even now we have friends who talk in favour of the restoration of 370, whether it is in Tamil Nadu or West Bengal or the Left. We have friends outside of J-K who see eye to eye with us on the issue of 370,” he added.
The former chief minister said just like the BJP did not stop talking about the abrogation of Article 370 even when it had two Lok Sabha members in the 1984 elections, his party will continue to talk about the restoration of the special status.
“When the BJP was reduced to two members of Parliament after the victory of Rajiv Gandhi following the assassination of PM Indira Gandhi, did the BJP stop? It kept talking about 370 despite setbacks in court. So, our struggle (also) will not end,” he said.
Asked about the “silence” of the Congress on the demand for restoration of Article 370, Abdullah said while he was disappointed, he would not blame his INDIA bloc ally.
“It is disappointing but I do not blame them. I have always maintained that J-K’s special status is the legacy of the Congress party. I
Why would you assume that no government will come in future that will be unwilling to talk to us on Article 370
Even now we have friends who talk in favour of the restoration of 370, whether it is in Tamil Nadu or West Bengal or the Left.
Congress's silence on Article 370 is disappointing but I do not blame them.
Article 370 was a sovereign commitment of the Union of India with the people of J&K
was not an individual who gave it, it was the government that gave it “It was a sovereign commitment of the Union of India with the people of J-K, but you cannot escape the fact that it was the legacy of India’s first prime minister. Therefore, I would have been happier if the Congress had defended its legacy a bit more.
“But, I do understand the political compulsions that make it difficult for them to do it. What I find surprising is that when people, whose legacy is the map of J-K, actually celebrate its dismemberment, that I find surprising because J-K’s map is not a product of August 15, 1947, J-K’s map actually predates independence. So, I would like to have seen people whose legacy is the territorial boundary of J-K perhaps defend it a bit more,” he added.
On the recent protests in the Ladakh region, Abdullah said the people of Ladakh cannot be blamed for it.
“Can you blame them? Unfortunately, when this UT issue was raised, some people were fanning the flames… I used to go and tell people to be careful what you ask for because once you get it, you will regret it and you will not find a point of return.
“They felt that UT was the answer to all their problems and that somehow they have been mistreated by successive governments in J-K and the only way to escape this, is to get a UT status,” he said.
Abdullah said when the Union Territory status was granted, the people of Ladakh realised that “we were not the villains”.
“In fact if anything, Ladakh enjoyed a greater political say than it does now. Then you had members of the legislative council, assembly, ministers in the government here.
“Today, you are reduced to what? Just a hill council. Every time an election comes, you are lied to. How many times do the people of Ladakh want to be lied to? They were promised the Sixth Schedule. Where is that? I am not surprised that they are as unhappy as they are,” he said.
A section of people in Ladakh are demanding that the Union territory be included in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution that protects tribal populations, allowing for the creation of autonomous development councils which administer this areas with powers to make laws on land, forest management, agriculture, etc.
Abdullah said whatever solution is offered to the people of Ladakh, will have to be offered to the people of J-K also.
“Ultimately, we are born of the same womb. Until 2019, we were the same state, and therefore, if they have concerns, if they face a threat, that threat is faced by the people of J-K also.
“You may not see the visible expressions of it in Jammu or in Kashmir, but the sense of unease, it persists,” he added.
  Share This News with Your Friends on Social Network  
  Comment on this Story  
 
 
 
Early Times Android App
STOCK UPDATE
  
BSE Sensex
NSE Nifty
 
CRICKET UPDATE
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
Home About Us Top Stories Local News National News Sports News Opinion Editorial ET Cetra Advertise with Us ET E-paper
 
 
J&K RELATED WEBSITES
J&K Govt. Official website
Jammu Kashmir Tourism
JKTDC
Mata Vaishnodevi Shrine Board
Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board
Shri Shiv Khori Shrine Board
UTILITY
Train Enquiry
IRCTC
Matavaishnodevi
BSNL
Jammu Kashmir Bank
State Bank of India
PUBLIC INTEREST
Passport Department
Income Tax Department
JK CAMPA
JK GAD
IT Education
Web Site Design Services
EDUCATION
Jammu University
Jammu University Results
JKBOSE
Kashmir University
IGNOU Jammu Center
SMVDU