Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said statehood to Jammu and Kashmir will be restored at an “appropriate time” after discussions are held with political stakeholders.

At an ABP News conclave in Patna, Shah responded to growing demands from political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir, including Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, for statehood to be restored for Jammu and Kashmir at the earliest.

Shah also claimed that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir has significantly improved since the abrogation of Article 370, stating that the Union Territory has taken a “complete U-turn”, highlighting that only one Indian resident had been recruited by terrorist groups over the past nine months.

Shah said that since the abrogation, panchayat, municipal and legislative assembly elections have been held in Jammu and Kashmir, and that Rajya Sabha elections will also take place.

“Today, democracy has been restored in Jammu and Kashmir,” Shah said.

In response to Abdullah’s recent remarks about the continued status of Jammu and Kashmir as a Union Territory and the “gulf” it has created between Srinagar and New Delhi, Shah dismissed the comments as political in nature.

“He may be saying this out of political compulsions,” Shah said, adding that he is in constant contact with Abdullah.

“Statehood would be restored at an appropriate time,” he added “And everyone must have faith in this.”

Meanwhile, Abdullah, who recently completed one year in office, announced that he is exploring the possibility of becoming a party to an ongoing case in the Supreme Court that seeks restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, The New Indian Express reported.

“That said, it is for my lawyers to advise whether it would actually be beneficial to the people of J-K,” he said. “If that is, I have no hesitation in becoming a party to this case in the SC.”

Abdullah also questioned the Bharatiya Janata Party’s intentions regarding statehood, suggesting that the ruling party should come clean on whether the restoration of statehood is contingent on a BJP government being in power in Jammu and Kashmir.

“If that is the deal that is to be struck with the people, then the BJP should be honest, because the BJP in its manifesto and its promises to Parliament and to the Supreme Court never said that the statehood is dependent on the BJP coming to power in J-K,” The New Indian Express quoted the chief minister as saying.

Statehood for Jammu and Kashmir

The BJP-led Centre had abrogated Article 370, which gave special status to the erstwhile state, in August 2019. It also bifurcated the state into two Union Territories: Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

In December 2023, the Supreme Court upheld the validity of the 2019 order abrogating Article 370 and ordered the Centre to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.

In January, Abdullah said that he wanted to give the Centre the “first opportunity” to restore the Union Territory’s statehood before seeking legal recourse.

However, during his Independence Day address on August 15, the chief minister said that his hope for statehood being restored to Jammu and Kashmir was fading. He announced that he would carry out a signature campaign in support for restoring statehood, a statement which the Opposition criticised as “mere theatrics”.

Also read:

‘We have been made fools’: Why J&K’s hopes for Omar Abdullah government have soured in a year

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