Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Thursday, his first visit to the national capital since taking office last week.
This is Omar Abdullah’s first meeting with PM Modi after being sworn in as the Chief Minister of J&K. On Wednesday, Omar Abdullah met the Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and according to reports, Omar submitted the resolution passed by the J&K Cabinet for restoration of statehood to the Home Minister.
Omar was expected to submit the statehood resolution to the Prime Minister on Thursday; however, there is no confirmation yet whether he has submitted it.
The Chief Minister also met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, during whom the Defence Minister conveyed PM Modi’s interest in ensuring the progress and development of J&K.
The Defence Minister also told the Chief Minister that the Union government is committed to supporting the initiatives that will bring prosperity and stability to the region.
Omar Abdullah also met Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari and discussed the ongoing road projects and future developmental initiatives in J&K. Their meeting focused on expanding road infrastructure, including critical highway projects and enhancing transportation facilities across J&K.
The NC, headed by former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, made the restoration of Article 370 and statehood for J&K the main electoral plank.
The Union Home Minister and the Prime Minister have assured J&K of its restoration to statehood. Even before the Supreme Court, the Union government filed an affidavit stating that statehood would be restored to J&K as soon as possible.
NC won 42, BJP 29, Congress 6, PDP 3, CPI (M) 1, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) 1, Peoples Conference 1 and independents 7 seats in the 90-member Legislative Assembly for which the election were held after 10 years in J&K.
Six independent MLAs later joined the NC, while the Congress supports the Omar Abdulla-led government but said it would not join unless J&K regains statehood.
On August 5, 2019, articles 370 and 35A were abrogated and J&K was divided into two UTs of J&K and Ladakh.
–IANS
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