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Don’t trust verbal assurances from Centre: J&K CM Omar Abdullah to Ladakh’s leadership
Srinagar, Sep 16 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah advised the leadership of Ladakh not to rely on the Centre’s verbal assurances regarding their struggle for constitutional safeguards with regard to land and jobs.
He said Jammu and Kashmir has been a victim of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre’s verbal assurances.
“Ladakh has its own issues, our issues are separate. However, as a friend and a well-wisher, I can only advice the leadership of Ladakh not to rely on any verbal assurances from the central government unless they provide those in writing and officially signed,” Abdullah told reporters in Pulwama district.
He was in the south Kashmir district to review development projects.
“We ourselves have been victims of this. We too were given verbal assurances that statehood would be restored immediately after the (Assembly) election. Almost two years have passed since and that promise has not materialised.
“Therefore, with folded hands, my humble request to the leaders of Ladakh and Kargil is not to trust verbal commitments from the Centre until they receive something in writing, perhaps in the form of a formal affidavit,” Abdullah said.
The chief minister also said in terms of execution of development projects and expenditure of the allocated funds, Pulwama would likely rank among the top five among all the 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
“The deputy commissioner and his team have delivered good performance. Now, I have only asked them that during the two to three months remaining in our current working season, they should push further to utilise as much of the funds as possible. If, after that, reallocation is required, once their entire budget is utilised, I can arrange for additional funds from other avenues,” he added.
Abdullah said the developmental activities are running smoothly across every constituency of the district.
“Projects worth around Rs 100 crore in Pulwama district were either inaugurated or had their foundation stones laid on Wednesday. These include road projects, school projects, hospital works, some bridges under construction and a dairy-processing village that is being established. In almost every sector in Pulwama, visible progress is evident on the ground,” he said.
Responding to a question on the strike by NHM employees, Abdullah said while protest is a democratic right, his government will talk on their demands only after the agitation is called off.
“My earnest request to them would be to kindly choose the path of dialogue because, ultimately, a solution will emerge only through discussion. We cannot hold talks while protests are ongoing. If attempts are made to extract demands under the pressure of agitation, it sets a precedent where everyone else will take to the streets in protest. Therefore, as long as an agitation continues, we will not be able to engage in dialogue,” he added.
The chief minister refused to react to Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma’s statement on the short duration of the Assembly.
“I will only respond to one statement per month from the leader of opposition. He makes statements daily and I do not have enough free time to reply to him on an everyday basis. I responded to one yesterday, the next response will come in October,” he said. PTI MIJ RC
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
