{"id":21758,"date":"2026-06-06T00:19:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T00:19:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/?p=21758"},"modified":"2026-06-06T00:19:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T00:19:17","slug":"art-370-abrogation-biggest-policy-mistake-cm-omar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/art-370-abrogation-biggest-policy-mistake-cm-omar\/","title":{"rendered":"Art 370 abrogation biggest policy mistake: CM Omar"},"content":{"rendered":"

Seeks immediate restoration of statehood<\/strong><\/p>\n

Srinagar, Jun 05: Asserting that restoration of statehood remains the biggest political demand of the people of the Union Territory, the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said Jammu and Kashmir chose to be part of India in 1947.<\/p>\n

He said the people of Jammu and Kashmir have repeatedly demonstrated their faith in democracy, rejected violence and continue to seek accountable governance along with restoration of their constitutional and democratic rights.<\/p>\n

Speaking at The Hindu Huddle 2026 in Bengaluru, Omar, according to the news agency\u2014Kashmir News Observer (KNO), termed the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 as the \u201cbiggest policy mistake\u201d made by the Government of India.<\/p>\n

Responding to questions on India-Pakistan relations and Kashmir\u2019s role in the geopolitical landscape, Omar said Jammu and Kashmir remains central to tensions between the two countries.<\/p>\n

\u201cPakistan wants us. We are a part of India. We chose to be a part of India. That was something they couldn\u2019t accept and still are unable to accept,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said while the people of J&K are directly affected by India-Pakistan relations, they are rarely consulted in the dialogue process.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are, for want of a better phrase, the elephant in the room,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Referring to the security situation, Omar said last year\u2019s incidents in Pahalgam showed that militancy and violence cannot be taken lightly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe became complacent about the security situation. We thought the dark days of militancy where innocent people would be killed were behind us. Unfortunately, we saw them again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He also expressed concern over the international situation, particularly developments around Iran, saying many students from Jammu and Kashmir study there.<\/p>\n

\u2018Statehood promised, but nowhere in sight\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seeking restoration of statehood, Omar said the Centre had publicly committed to a three-stage process involving delimitation, elections and restoration of statehood.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had delimitation. We had elections in which people participated in record numbers. But statehood is nowhere to be seen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Questioning the Centre\u2019s repeated reference to restoring statehood at an \u201cappropriate time\u201d, Omar asked the Government of India to define the parameters being used to determine that timeline.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is the yardstick by which I will measure the appropriate time? Is it violence? Is it the international situation with Pakistan? These are things I do not control,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Chief Minister said the present Union Territory arrangement weakens democratic governance and limits the powers of the elected government.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can I be Chief Minister without choosing my Chief Secretary, Director General of Police or Finance Secretary? What sort of government is that?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

He said governance and delivery of services would improve once Jammu and Kashmir regains statehood.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not using absence of statehood as an excuse. I am saying governance and delivery will be better when you give us what you promised,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s remarks on restoration of statehood, Omar said, \u201cWe were told publicly that this is not just any promise, this is Modi\u2019s promise. All we are asking is that the promise be kept.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Article 370 never hurdle to development\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Article 370, Omar said the constitutional provision was never responsible for lack of development in Jammu and Kashmir and said that decades of violence and instability discouraged investment and economic growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople will not invest money in a place they perceive as unsafe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Rejecting the argument that Article 370 hindered growth, Omar said several other regions in the country also enjoy special protections and restrictions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe BJP said you can\u2019t have two systems in one country. But there are places in the country where outsiders cannot buy land and where permits are required,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said Jammu and Kashmir suffered because of violence over the last three decades and not because of constitutional safeguards.<\/p>\n

\u2018People rejected terror\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Chief Minister said the people of Jammu and Kashmir have repeatedly demonstrated their faith in democracy and rejected violence.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the first time in 35 years of violence, people came out openly against terror and against the killing of innocent people. They lit candles, marched and said this is not in our name,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said voters in Jammu and Kashmir, like elsewhere in the country, want jobs, better healthcare and accountable governance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey want to be participants in the development and progress of this country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u2018One Nation, One Election difficult\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the proposal of \u201cOne Nation, One Election\u201d, Omar said implementing such a system in a country as diverse as India would be difficult.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you implement it in a country where governments can fall before completing their terms?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

The Chief Minister also spoke about federalism and the functioning of Raj Bhavans, saying opposition-ruled states often face greater interference.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is still better to be a state with an interfering Raj Bhavan than to be a Union Territory with an even more empowered Raj Bhavan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Reflects on politics, power<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reflecting on his political journey, Omar said power is temporary and should not be taken for granted.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are perhaps the most glorified daily wagers in the country. Just because I am in office today is no guarantee that I will be in office tomorrow,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He also recalled witnessing the dismissal of his father Farooq Abdullah\u2019s government in 1984 and said those experiences shaped his political understanding from a young age.<\/p>\n

Omar said age and political experience had changed his outlook over the years and given him a deeper understanding of governance and public life.<\/p>\n

Invites South Indians to visit Kashmir<\/strong><\/p>\n

Inviting people from southern India to visit Jammu and Kashmir, Omar said tourism and filmmaking can play an important role in improving connections between regions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not get enough people from south of the Vindhyas. Tourism follows movies. We would love to see more South Indian films shot in Kashmir,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Referring to filmmaker Yash Chopra\u2019s impact on Swiss tourism, Omar said cinema has immense potential to promote Kashmir as a tourist destination.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour films have bigger budgets and are doing better than Bollywood these days. We hope more filmmakers from the South will come and shoot in Kashmir,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

He also referred to the film Roja and said movies based on Kashmir earlier could not be shot in the Valley because of the security situation, but circumstances have now improved considerably. (KNO)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Seeks immediate restoration of statehood Srinagar, Jun 05: Asserting that restoration of statehood remains the biggest political demand of the people of the Union Territory, the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said Jammu and Kashmir chose to be part of India in 1947. He said the people of Jammu and Kashmir […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21759,"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-21758","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\/21758","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=21758"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21758\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21760,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21758\/revisions\/21760"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}