Jammu, Mar 3: Ending speculations, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah clarified that there are currently no plans for an alliance with the BJP, emphasizing the party’s commitment to its political vision.
“We are not talking about any alliance (with the BJP); neither is there any scope nor the need. Our thoughts also do not align. If we talk about J&K, our thoughts are vastly different…We will hold discussions on everything (during the session),” he said.
He said the resolution on special status passed by the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly in its first sitting last year has not been rejected by the Central government, which is a big thing,
Omar said there was no need to bring any other resolution on Article 370, which was abrogated in August 2019.
The chief minister said all legislators need to work together to help the government fulfill its priorities for public welfare.
“What we have to do was done in the first (assembly) session (in November 2024). The resolution is still being held after being passed by the House. The PDP and others helped us in passing the resolution, and it is still holding is a big thing,” he told reporters outside the assembly here while responding to a question that some members are planning to bring a fresh resolution to condemn the abrogation of Article 370.
The 40-day Budget Session of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, having a total of 22 sittings, began on Monday with Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s address.
The chief minister said some people were thinking that any resolution on special status will get outrightly rejected by the Central government.
“The resolution was not rejected, and the fact of the matter is that it is still holding, so there is no need to talk further on this,” he said.
The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly passed a resolution on November 6 asking the Centre to work out a constitutional mechanism for restoring the special status of the erstwhile state.
Abdullah said the National Conference will not repeat what it had already done.
“It is not like that we will repeat this thing. What we have to do was done in the first session. If we had not brought that resolution, then there was a possibility of holding discussions on it. We bought a resolution, and the House passed it with a majority, so what is there to talk further on it?” he asked.
Earlier, addressing the Legislative Assembly, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah praised former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, highlighting his contributions to India’s economic growth and key welfare initiatives.
“Manmohan Singh ji was born in undivided India. He went to Oxford and Cambridge and started as an officer and finance minister and then PM. When he became finance minister, our country was going through an economic crisis. Today we are the biggest economies of India. Today, the private sector is developing as the license raj was stopped. As PM, he took Indira Awas Yojana, MGNREGA initiatives,” Omar Abdullah said.
He recalled Manmohan Singh’s farewell press conference and said, “Manmohan, in his last press conference, said, ‘History will be a better judge of me than contemporary times.’ All world leaders respected him.”
He further recounted an incident showcasing the former PM Manmohan Singh’s humility, saying, “I remember I wrote a letter to him (Manmohan) on some issue, and I gave an interview on that issue. But I didn’t mention the letter, there was an issue that the protocol has been broken. He called me and said This is not right; you addressed the issue in the press. I told him I had not done that, but after 15 minutes, he called back and apologized… He was PM, didn’t need to do so.”
Chief Minister also stated that former Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Manmohan Singh had made significant progress in resolving the Kashmir issue.
Highlighting infrastructure projects initiated during Manmohan Singh’s tenure, Abdullah said, “Working groups were made, and for Kashmiri Pandits, jobs were created, and they went back to Kashmir. Jagti township was made at his time and Kashmiri Pandit migrants…Manmohan Singh started the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. Today, we are waiting for the PM to inaugurate the train to Banihal. It was started by Manmohan Singh’s time, and he started the world’s highest railway bridge work.”