Srinagar, Jul 30: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday defended his party’s recent protest in New Delhi, saying it was intended to keep the demand for restoration of statehood in the national discourse and was not expected to yield immediate results.
Speaking to reporters in Ganderbal district, Abdullah said no political movement succeeds through a single protest and asserted that sustained efforts were necessary to achieve the objective.
“If one protest could resolve an issue, every problem would have been settled in a day. We went to Delhi knowing fully well that the first protest would not bring immediate results, but it was important to register our demand,” he said.
The chief minister said the protest was organised before August 5 and was not timed to coincide with the anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 to gain political attention.
“We did not wait for August 5. Had it been mere political theatre, we would have gone to Delhi on that day. We went earlier because our objective was to remind the country that a promise made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir on restoration of statehood is yet to be fulfilled,” Abdullah said.
He said the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly had already passed a resolution seeking restoration of the region’s constitutional guarantees and statehood and forwarded it to the Centre.
Abdullah said his government would continue to pursue the issue while also focusing on governance and development works across the Union Territory.
Referring to reports from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, he expressed hope that peace would prevail there and said innocent civilians should not suffer due to the prevailing situation. (KNS).
