J&K LG Calls Out CM Omar Abdullah After He skips UT Foundation Day Event – News18
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Chief Minister Omar Abdullah skipped the J&K UT Foundation Day event on Thursday, drawing sharp reaction from LG Manoj Sinha.
J&K LG Manoj Sinha and CM Omar Abdullah (PTI photo)
A war of words broke out over the issue of the sixth Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory Foundation Day celebrations, an event that was boycotted by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and other ruling National Conference leaders on Thursday.
J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha questioned CM Abdullah’s move stating that Jammu and Kashmir’s current status as a UT is a reality.
J&K UT Foundation Day marks the creation of the Union Territory under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. This year’s event was organised at the Convention Centre in Jammu.
What did J&K LG say about Abdullah’s boycott?
Sinha lashed out at the Chief Minister while reiterating Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s promise to provide statehood to J&K at an appropriate time and said that Omar Abdullah will have to get used to the fact that the region is currently a Union Territory and not a state.
“This is not the first time we are celebrating this day. The elections in J&K just finished a few days back…Everyone cannot come to attend the event but Jammu and Kashmir is a Union Territory as of date and we will have to accept this fact. PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah also said the delimitation first, Assembly elections second, and then statehood. When PM Modi came here on Yoga Day, he said that Assembly elections will be conducted soon and then the status of statehood will be given to J&K,” the LG said.
War of words over UT Foundation Day
J&K BJP chief Ravinder Raina slammed CM Abdullah over the boycott and suggested him to “rise above party politics” as a person holding constitutional position.
“Every year October 31 is celebrated as UT Foundation Day…It is the responsibility of the person who is serving on a constitutional post to attend the programs that come under the Constitution. When a person has a constitutional post, then that person should rise above party politics…I hope that the J&K CM will attend these kinds of programs in the future…” he said.
J&K Minister and National Conference leader Javed Ahmed Rana said that the party is not only “boycotting” the event but also “rejecting” it.
“Not only do we boycott the UT Foundation Day, but we also reject it. Our mandate is against the UT; we will always talk about state restoration and special status… The abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35A, and giving J-K the status of Union Territory was not a good step,” he said.
National Conference’s opposition to UT Foundation Day
Farooq Abdullah-led National Conference has been vocal regarding the UT Day and has time and again called for the restoration of statehood to J&K, as it was before August 5, 2019, when Article 370, providing special status to the erstwhile state, was abrogated in a historic move by the Modi 2.0 administration. J&K was converted to a UT and also split into two UTs – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
NC MLA Tanvir Sadiq had earlier said that the NC would not observe UT Day because the party does not recognise Jammu and Kashmir as a Union Territory, claiming that its status was taken from the people of J-K in 2019 and was unconstitutional.
The JKNC spokesperson reiterated, “We will never settle for Union Territory status. Our demand is firm: full statehood and the rightful status Jammu and Kashmir held before August 5, 2019.”
(With ANI inputs)
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