J&K LoP Sunil Sharma meets Amit Shah as Statehood resolution stirs Assembly

Leader of Opposition in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Sunil Sharma, met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Saturday, a day after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah introduced a resolution in the legislature seeking the restoration of Statehood to the Union Territory.

According to a BJP spokesman, the BJP leader briefed the Home Minister on the prevailing security situation, law and order, development initiatives, public concerns and matters relating to the ongoing session of the J&K Legislative Assembly. Mr. Sharma, the spokesman said, flagged the key concerns being raised by the people of Jammu and Kashmir and discussed issues that require continued attention, coordination and support from the Union government.

During the meeting, Mr. Shah reiterated the Union government's commitment to peace, development and prosperity in Jammu and Kashmir, and assured continued support and cooperation in addressing matters concerning the people of the Union Territory, the spokesman added.

The meeting carries political weight given the resolution moved by Mr. Abdullah, which also refers to the 2000 report on greater autonomy and the 2024 resolution on special status, and calls upon the Centre to address the demands of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The resolution is expected to be taken up in the Assembly on Monday.

National Conference spokesman Imran Nabi Dar sought to clarify the intent behind the move, saying the people of Jammu would not back the BJP's position on Statehood and that granting Statehood was the only way to bring relief to the region's residents. He pointed out that eight BJP MLAs had supported the 2000 autonomy resolution, asking how it could now be termed anti-national, and said Mr. Abdullah had made clear that the current resolution concerns Statehood, a commitment made by the Centre.

The BJP has rejected the resolution. Speaking in the Assembly on Friday, Mr. Sharma described it as an attempt to bring back the 2000 autonomy resolution and the 2024 resolution. He said former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had rejected the demand in 2000 and that the BJP would not tolerate its revival, accusing the National Conference of manufacturing the controversy to divert attention from what he called two years of failed governance and to mislead the people of Jammu and Kashmir, particularly Kashmir.