Omar Abdullah's Call for Statehood Restoration

During its inaugural cabinet meeting on Thursday, the government led by Omar Abdullah passed a resolution urging the Centre, governed by the National Democratic Alliance to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. The resolution drafted by the National Conference which secured 42 seats in recent assembly elections will be presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Abdullah in New Delhi.

However, Sajad Lone, leader of the People's Conference, criticized the decision to address such an important issue through the cabinet rather than the assembly, asserting that the assembly is the appropriate forum for discussing statehood and Article 370. Similarly, Peoples Democratic Party MLA Waheed Para described the resolution as a mere rectification of the August 5, 2019 decision failing to adequately address Article 370. 

Meanwhile the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea for the urgent restoration of statehood, reinforcing that assembly elections should occur by September 2024.