{"id":17623,"date":"2026-04-21T02:11:06","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T02:11:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/?p=17623"},"modified":"2026-04-21T02:11:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T02:11:06","slug":"cm-omar-questions-centres-intent-over-statehood-restoration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/21\/cm-omar-questions-centres-intent-over-statehood-restoration\/","title":{"rendered":"CM Omar questions Centre\u2019s intent over statehood restoration"},"content":{"rendered":"

Asks what \u2018right time\u2019 means; demands roadmap<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rajouri, Apr 20: Asserting that despite repeated assurances there is no clarity on restoring J&K\u2019s statehood, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday criticised the Centre over the delay and questioned its intent.<\/p>\n

Addressing a public rally in Rajouri district, CM Omar, according to the news agency\u2014Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said, \u201cCommitments made by the BJP-led government at multiple forums, including Parliament and before the Supreme Court of India, have not translated into action.\u201d<\/p>\n

He questioned the Centre\u2019s use of the phrase \u201cat the right time\u201d, asking what it meant in practical terms for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.<\/p>\n

The Chief Minister said a promise made to the people, particularly one linked to democratic rights and constitutional status, could not be deferred indefinitely.<\/p>\n

He urged the Centre to spell out a clear roadmap for restoring statehood and specify if any conditions were attached to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople deserve to know what benchmarks, if any, they are expected to meet. Without that, uncertainty and mistrust will continue,\u201d CM Omar said.<\/p>\n

Referring to the Centre\u2019s earlier position, the Chief Minister, as per KNO. said the sequence outlined by the Bharatiya Janata Party included delimitation, followed by elections and then restoration of statehood. He noted that delimitation had been completed and elections, including both Parliamentary and Assembly polls, had been held in 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite this, there has been no progress on the final step,\u201d he said, adding that more than a year had passed since an elected government assumed office in the Union Territory.<\/p>\n

CM Omar described the 2019 reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir into a Union Territory as a move that many people perceived as punitive. He said participation in subsequent elections was driven in part by assurances that statehood would be restored.<\/p>\n

The Chief Minister also raised concerns over the delimitation exercise, alleging that it had been used for political advantage. He claimed that a majority of newly created constituencies had benefited the BJP, though he added that electoral outcomes did not fully align with such efforts.<\/p>\n

On women\u2019s reservation in legislatures, the Chief Minister reiterated support for greater representation but questioned the timing of the exercise, arguing that delimitation without a fresh census raised procedural concerns.<\/p>\n

He said the demand for statehood was not limited to any one party but reflected a broader aspiration across political lines. The National Conference, he added, would continue to press the issue and hold the Centre accountable. \u201cRaising questions and seeking accountability is part of democratic responsibility,\u201d the Chief Minister said. (KNO)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Asks what \u2018right time\u2019 means; demands roadmap Rajouri, Apr 20: Asserting that despite repeated assurances there is no clarity on restoring J&K\u2019s statehood, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday criticised the Centre over the delay and questioned its intent. Addressing a public rally in Rajouri district, CM Omar, according to the news agency\u2014Kashmir News Observer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17624,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-news","category-kt-front"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17623"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17625,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17623\/revisions\/17625"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}