Omar’s closing remarks in J&K assembly: ‘No stone was left unturned in humiliating us’

“I look forward to an era in Jammu and Kashmir where people are partners in peace,” he said, delivering his address on the vote of thanks to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s address in the absence of the BJP legislative party in the house.

Speaking of the “disempowerment” of J&K after August 2019, Omar said: “No stone was left unturned in humiliating us. What was our fault? That we upheld the country’s flag here or that we spoke of addressing our concerns within the ambit of the constitution? Or that we fought elections?”

Emphasising that the elected government is a “new beginning”, the CM said the dispensation had several responsibilities, and an important one among those is to maintain law and order in Jammu and Kashmir.

“To keep militancy, terror and violence at bay and bringing policies and schemes to give it direction. The elected government does not have those powers. However, the situation cannot be normalised in a vacuum,” he said.

Stating that his government is working closely with the Lieutenant Governor’s office in this regard, he said: “No one should have any doubts that the government and the police have any confusion. I want to assure the police and other security forces that the government stands by them in order to ensure peace and maintain normalcy here”.

The chief minister also addressed the concerns of “weaponisation of verifications” in J&K. “This was used to make people’s lives difficult. We are trying to ensure that a softer approach is adopted towards these issues.”

With regard to repetitive detentions of individuals, he said that those with less serious charges or in cases where charges have not yet been framed, “the government should take another look at those but that is not directly under our control”.

Expressing the hope that J&K will once again become a full state, Omar said that this Assembly “is a way to get the Assembly we deserve, not this hybrid model”.

Thanking the LG for clearing the cabinet resolution seeking statehood, the CM stated that he had taken the resolution seeking full statehood to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“My meetings were very successful. I hope that the process to restore statehood will be started very soon,” he said.

On the fifth day of the session, Independent MLA Sheikh Khursheed attempted to unfold a banner in the well of the House before he was taken outside the house by the Marshalls. BJP leaders also raised slogans against the NC’s resolution passed on November 6, seeking restoration of J&K “special status”.

Addressing criticism from regional parties over the language of the resolution, Omar said: “Anyone could have drafted a resolution that would immediately be rejected by the Centre. We have passed a resolution that reflects the sentiments of the people and tells the world that we were not included in the decisions of August 5, 2019 and that we seek our special status.”

Terming the resolution “historic”, Omar said that the document “opens doors for dialogue”. The government, he said, did not want to use language that “restricts” them in this conversation or limits their options.

“I am aware that we may not get much from the current dispensation at the Centre. However, they will not always be around. At some point things will change. This is why we have included these words as a roadmap to make dialogue possible,” he said.