Ready to give up chair, hold polls for restoration of J&K’s statehood: Omar Abdullah | Srinagar News

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday mentioned he was prepared for contemporary elections and wouldn’t thoughts shedding his chair, if the Centre restored statehood. “I have no attachment to my chair,” he advised reporters after teeing off at a golf occasion in Gulmarg.Reacting to media stories suggesting that the Centre could contemplate restoring statehood to J&Okay within the coming months, however on the situation of holding contemporary elections, the CM mentioned: “I know where such stories are coming from. It was planted to create fear among MLAs so that they would say, ‘Let us continue for five years’. But, statehood is not for MLAs, nor is it for govt; it is for the people of J&K.”Omar mentioned National Conference wouldn’t grow to be an impediment to restoration of statehood, even when it meant dissolving the present meeting. “If the message is that the Assembly will be dissolved for statehood to be restored, then so be it,” he mentioned. “The day you restore statehood to J&K, the very next day we will ask the governor to dissolve the Assembly.”“Statehood is our constitutional and political right,” Omar asserted. “It cannot be used as a bargaining chip. Don’t threaten us through planted stories.”His father and NC president Farooq Abdullah, who was in Anantnag on Tuesday, mentioned J&Okay was downgraded right into a Union Territory (UT) as a result of of its Muslim majority character. There was no justification for revoking the statehood, he added.Addressing celebration delegates in Dooru space, Farooq mentioned: “We are not enemies of India. We chose to join India in 1947 when Pakistan was at our doorstep.”The present Assembly in J&Okay was elected in Oct 2024 within the first elections held after J&Okay was stripped of its particular standing in addition to statehood, and was bifurcated into two UTs, in Aug 2019. NC emerged as the one largest celebration within the 90-member House.Omar, who was at an award ceremony for golfers and hoteliers at Gulmarg Golf Championship, expressed frustration over the continual closure of vacationer locations in Kashmir, stating that it was not giving good alerts to incoming vacationers.He recalled the previous glory of Gulmarg golf Course, and declared that his govt was decided to make Gulmarg a world-class {golfing} vacation spot as soon as once more.The CM, who additionally holds the tourism portfolio, emphasised the necessity for a tourist-friendly perspective. “We must see every tourist not as a one-time visitor, but as a potential repeat guest. Their satisfaction should be our benchmark,” he asserted.