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Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday wrote to the presidents of over 40 political parties seeking their support for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, saying it "must not be viewed as a concession, but as an essential course correction". According to officials, Abdullah, in his two-page letter, called for bringing a legislation for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir during the current Parliament session. The chief minister's appeal comes nine months after his government's unanimous resolution calling for immediate statehood restoration, which, he says, was personally handed to the Prime Minister with an assurance of progress. It also comes on the sixth anniversary of the revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and its bifurcation into two Union Territories -- Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir. "Restoration must not be viewed as a concession, but as an essential course correction -- one that prevents us from sliding down a dangerous and ..
The Supreme Court is likely to hear on August 8 a plea seeking directions to the Centre for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan mentioned the matter on Tuesday before a bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran. "The date (on SC website) shows as August 8. Let it not be deleted," Sankaranarayanan submitted. The CJI accepted the request. Tuesday marks the sixth anniversary of the 2019 abrogation of Article 370, which accorded a special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. On December 11, 2023, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the revocation of Article 370, even as it ordered that assembly elections be held in Jammu and Kashmir by September 2024 and its statehood be restored "at the earliest". Last year, a plea was filed in the top court seeking directions to the Centre for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir within two months. The application was filed by Zaho
Former RAW chief A S Dulat on Friday vehemently refuted claims suggesting that former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah privately supported the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, dismissing those as "absolute nonsense". Speaking at the launch of his book titled 'The Chief Minister and the Spy' here, he addressed the controversy that erupted following media reports that Abdullah had "privately" suggested that he would have helped in the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 had he been taken into confidence. Dulat asserted that "there was not a single Kashmiri who spoke in favour of the abrogation." He cited former Finance Minister P Chidambaram's description of the move as a "monumental blunder," emphasising the widespread opposition within the region. Dulat, the former head of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the external intelligence agency of the country, detailed his meeting with Abdullah following his release from detention in February 2020. "I cou
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday dismissed ex-R&AW chief A S Dulat's claims that he had "privately backed" the Article 370 abrogation as a "cheap stunt" to boost the sales of the top spy's forthcoming memoir. He suggested that Dulat's motive behind penning the book -- 'The Chief Minister and the Spy', slated for release on April 18 -- could be an attempt to reach the power corridors or earn a lot of money. "It is possible that he wants to make a new relationship," Abdullah told PTI. Reacting angrily to Dulat's assertion that the National Conference (NC) would have "helped" pass the proposal to abrogate the special status of the erstwhile state had it been taken into confidence, the 87-year-old president of the party said this was a "figment of imagination" of the author. Abdullah pointed out that both he and his son Omar Abdullah had been put under arrest for several months at the time of the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019. "We were
The BJP's onslaught on the Congress over Article 370 of the Constitution is aimed at weakening the opposition party and winning the elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah said on Saturday. However, the veteran leader said they will not allow the Congress to be weakened and expressed hope that the INDIA bloc will emerge victorious in the Assembly polls in both the states. Talking to reporters after attending a private function here, Abdullah said he has no doubt about the return of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. Asked about the statements of Congress leaders that there is no mention of restoration of Article 370 in a recently-passed resolution in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Abdullah said they have their own purpose because their party is under attack from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah "shouting repeatedly at them just to win the elections". "They (BJP) are think