Centre may restore J&K statehood before polls
PRIME MINISTER had chaired a high-level meeting with 14 top leaders from eight political parties in J&K when he had said he was committed to removing ‘Dilli ki doori’, reiterating he was committed to restoring J&K’s full statehood an ‘appropriate time’.
The Centre may consider restoring full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir immediately after the delimitation process is over and perhaps even before the Assembly polls are held, top government sources have indicated. J&K was converted into a Union territory along with Ladakh in August 2019 when the Centre revoked its special status under Article 370 of the Constitution.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had chaired a high-level meeting with 14 top leaders from eight political parties in J&K when he had said he was committed to removing “Dilli ki doori” and “Dil ki doori”, reiterating he was committed to restoring J&K’s full statehood an “appropriate time”.
The sources said most Kashmiri leaders at the meeting had demanded that full statehood be restored to J&K before the elections are held.
The Kashmiri political elders had agreed to support the Centre on the issue of delimitation, but the local leadership gave the “timeline of delimitation-statehood-elections”, they said. It is now believed that the Centre, seeing the positive response from the local leadership, might offer give a major concession — of granting full statehood to J&K before the Assembly polls are held.
At Thursday’s meeting, Modi sought “cooperation and assistance” from senior state leaders urging them to help in the delimitation process to help redraw the new Assembly constituencies to hold elections. The sources said most leaders at the meeting expressed willingness to assist the Election Commission and the local administration to help complete the delimitation process at the earliest, emphasising that immediately after than full statehood should be restored.
Home ministry sources said more rounds of negotiations are expected in the next few months with the J&K leadership on the complex issue of restoring the democratic process, but the Centre was “favourably inclined” towards restoring statehood once the delimitation process was completed in J&K.
“The meeting on Thursday was held on a very positive note and some more talks are likely in the coming weeks. Seeing the state leadership’s response, the Centre too is willing to concede some of their demands like giving full statehood if the local leadership cooperates in the delimitation exercise,” a senior home ministry official added.