Will work with all for J&K statehood: Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that his government will work to restore the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir “at an early opportunity,” seven months after moving to divest its special status under the Constitution and reorganise it into two Union Territories.
The PM made the statement at a meeting with a 24-member delegation of the newly formed Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party, led by its leader Altaf Bukhari, a day after setting free former chief minister Farooq Abdullah from detention under the tough Public Safety Act (PSA). At the meeting at his residence on Saturday, Modiengagedwiththedelegation on issues including concerns on demographic change, a delimitation exercise in the newly formed Union Territory of J&K and grant of state domicile. “Referring to his statement in Parliament, the PM underlined that the government will work with all sections of the population to realize the hopes of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir at an early opportunity,” said an official statement released after the meeting.
At the interactive session with the delegation, the Prime Minister also called for ‘Janbhagidari’ (people’s participation) in transforming Jammu and Kashmir and emphasised the importance of an administration that gives the people of the region a voice.
Former chief minister Farooq Abdullah, released on Friday after 7 months in detention, may respond to overtures if the government reaches out to him, AS Dulat, the former chief of India’s spy agency, has said. Dulat, who headed the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) from 1999 to 2000, met Abdullah on February 12 in an interaction that was cleared by the Centre, and one that national security adviser AK Doval was fully aware of, Dulat said in an interview to The Wire on Saturday. He added that the meeting was facilitated by the Intelligence Bureau (IB). Hindustan Times first reported in February the government sent Dulat to meet the former CM and suss out his mood after the nullification of Article 370 last year.