Amid escalating political tensions over the existing reservation rules in the Union Territory, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah stated that the report submitted by the Cabinet Subcommittee on quota would be vetted by the Law Department before any final decision is made.
The Chief Minister said the report would be taken up by the cabinet after a thorough legal examination.
"The Law Department has to examine it. You cannot hijack the process. It is a legal document and requires proper scrutiny," Omar Abdullah asserted.
"If I intended to buy time, I would have granted a six-month extension to the subcommittee. Do you have any mechanism to compel me to finalize the report within six months? How many committees have submitted their reports within that time frame?" Omar asked.
He also accused the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of displaying double standards on the controversial reservation issue. Omar Abdullah reminded PDP leaders of the restrictions imposed by their party president, Mehbooba Mufti, when she was contesting the Lok Sabha elections from the Anantnag-Poonch-Rajouri seat.
"I can retrieve Mehbooba Mufti's tweet from the Lok Sabha election period, in which she had instructed that no one in her party was authorized to speak on the issue of reservation," he said. "She needed votes from Poonch and Rajouri, and therefore strictly banned her party members from even discussing reservation. Why didn't she raise the issue then?" the Chief Minister asked.
He further emphasized that his government had submitted the reservation report within six months, marking the first time such progress had been made on the issue.
"If I had wanted to delay, I could have given the Subcommittee six more months. What would anyone have done? Was there any mechanism to force me to complete this report in six months?" he added.
"The Cabinet has accepted the Subcommittee's report and forwarded it to the Law Department for comments," Abdullah told reporters.
When asked whether the National Conference would approach the Supreme Court to seek the restoration of statehood, Omar Abdullah expressed hope that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would fulfill his promise.
He recalled that while inaugurating the Sonamarg tunnel, the Prime Minister had assured the public that statehood would be restored.
"We are hopeful that the promise will be fulfilled," he said.
Notably, during a rally after inaugurating the Sonamarg tunnel on January 13, the Prime Minister had promised that all issues concerning the people of Jammu and Kashmir would be addressed.
On rising tensions between Iran and Israel, Abdullah criticized Israel's actions and expressed concern for the safety of stranded Indian students.
"What has Iran done to deserve this? A few months ago, it was stated that Iran had no nuclear program, so why is it now being targeted? Our students are stranded there. Four hundred have been moved to safe locations, but a total of 1,600 from Jammu and Kashmir remain," he said.
When asked about Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's remark regarding his differences with his party leadership, Abdullah responded, "That's Congress's internal matter."
Lastly, the Chief Minister inaugurated a new Rabitta office in Jammu, aimed at enhancing public outreach and grievance redressal.
"We have opened this Rabitta office in Jammu because the one in Kashmir is functioning very well. Officers will be available here. People can submit their concerns both online and offline, and we will try to resolve them efficiently," he said.
