No resolution on Article 370, scaling down of statehood demand huge setback: PDP

SRINAGAR: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday said Jammu and Kashmir government’s first reported resolution demanding restoration of statehood and not Article 370, was a “huge setback” and nothing less than the ratification of the Centre’s 2019 decisions.

Another political party, the People’s Conference, has also questioned the secrecy over the resolution.

The reactions came after a Jammu-based newspaper ‘Daily Excelsior’ carried a report that the cabinet had passed a resolution urging the Centre to restore J&K’s statehood. The report also said that the chief minister will travel to Delhi to handover the draft of the resolution to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

However, there was no official confirmation or denial of the report so far.

“Omar Abdullah’s first resolution on statehood is nothing less than ratification of the August 5, 2019 decision. No resolution on Article 370 and scaling down the demand to mere statehood is a huge setback, especially after seeking votes on the promise of restoring Article 370,” PDP youth president and MLA-elect Pulwama, Waheed Parra, said in a post on X.

People’s Conference chief Sajad Lone wondered why the resolution on statehood passed by the cabinet was “shrouded in mystery and secrecy that only one newspaper publishes it”.

“I hope the CS (chief secretary) of Jammu and Kashmir has notified as it is the protocol,” Lone said on X.

Lone, who is an MLA-elect from Handwara, however, said the resolution should have been passed in the assembly rather than the cabinet.

“I very humbly state that the will of the people of J&K is reflected in the Assembly and not in the cabinet. The cabinet is a majoritarian institution of governance. It does not reflect all shades and opinions as per the will of the people of J&K,” he added.

All across the country, to the best of my knowledge, Assembly is the proper institution for addressing major issues like that of statehood or Article 370, he said.

“When the NC Government passed a resolution on autonomy, they passed it in the Assembly not through a cabinet resolution. What has changed now? Fail to understand why this resolution should not have been reserved for Assembly. Why are we so keen to trivialise everything,” he questioned.

The separatist-turned-mainstream politician said he would have loved to see which way the BJP and other parties vote on statehood and on Article 370 resolution when it is presented in the Assembly.

He reminded the National Conference (NC) of its commitment, as per the party’s election manifesto, to strive to restore Articles 370 and 35A, and statehood as prior to August 5, 2019, and to pass a resolution in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly, in its first list of business after elections, against the Centre’s decision to strip the region of its statehood and special status.

“We are not demanding or expecting anything extraordinary. Do what you promised the people of J&K in your manifesto,” Lone said. (PTI)