JAMMU, Sep 26: President of Mission Statehood Sunil Dimple welcomed the resolution presented by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly seeking restoration of statehood and challenged Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma to seek dissolution of the Assembly and place the demand before the Union Home Minister.
Talking to media persons, Dimple alleged that the BJP becomes apprehensive whenever the issue of restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood is raised. He questioned why the BJP was reluctant to support the restoration of the erstwhile J&K state.
Dimple dared LoP Sunil Sharma to dissolve the Assembly and raise the demand before the Home Minister, whom he said Sharma had met earlier. He claimed that if the Assembly were dissolved, the BJP’s present strength of 29 MLAs could come down to nine or even fewer after fresh elections.
He further alleged that the BJP was unwilling to support restoration of statehood because Assembly elections would become necessary after restoration and, according to him, the party’s representation could decline significantly.
Dimple also urged National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to include additional demands in the resolution. He referred to promises which, he claimed, had been made to the people during the Parliament and Assembly elections, as well as during the formation of the alliance government on October 16, 2024.
According to Dimple, these demands include the restoration of Article 370, revival of the State Subject/PRC system, cancellation of domiciles issued to outsiders, autonomy, implementation of the conditions associated with the Instrument of Accession, and unification of Ladakh and Pakistan-occupied areas, including Gilgit-Baltistan, with Jammu and Kashmir.
Dimple said he was a witness to commitments made by Dr Farooq Abdullah regarding Article 370 and restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood. He demanded that these issues also be incorporated into the resolution.
Dimple alleged that the BJP had been exposed on the issue of statehood and claimed that the party did not want restoration of the Jammu and Kashmir state associated with Maharaja Hari Singh.
He also called upon the Prime Minister and Home Minister to fulfil their commitments regarding restoration of statehood and implement what he described as the assurance given in Parliament and the Supreme Court-related direction concerning restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.
Dimple further alleged that the people and youth of Jammu and Kashmir had suffered in the absence of statehood following the abrogation of Article 370. He accused the BJP-led Union Government of remaining non-committal on restoration of the Jammu and Kashmir state.