Omar reiterates demand for statehood restoration

Amritsar, Sep 17: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday reiterated his demand to restore J&K’s statehood, saying all they have received so far on the matter were verbal assurances.

Talking to mediapersons here, Abdullah also wished Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 76th birthday.

Asked what announcement he expected today, Abdullah said, “What can I say as to what he (Modi) does… If nothing else, let him grant us statehood; what else could we want?”

Abdullah was in Amritsar to inaugurate the renovated heritage building of the Jammu & Kashmir House on Court Road.

Asked about statehood, Abdullah said, “You all know what happened with us. We were told that statehood would be restored after the (J&K) elections. But nothing was given in writing; only verbal assurances were given.”

He also 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.

“Hence, I suggest to people and friends in Ladakh not to trust the Centre’s words… Rather, have them in writing. We did not get anything in writing, and we are at the same place today. J&K has been a victim of the Centre’s verbal assurances,” the chief minister said.

Abdullah noted that the Centre had outlined a three-step process – delimitation, Assembly elections and the restoration of statehood.

“Even in Parliament and in the Supreme Court, this assurance was given. While we saw delimitation and elections in J&K, in which people participated, statehood has not been restored even till now,” he said.

On August 5, 2019, the Centre revoked Article 370 of the Constitution that granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated it into two Union territories – J-K with a legislative assembly with limited powers and Ladakh without one.

In December 2023, the Supreme Court upheld the Centre’s decision to revoke the special status and create the two UTs but told the government to restore J&K’s statehood as soon as possible.

On the ongoing UPI row, Abdullah said that person-to-person money transactions will not carry any charge.

“There are no merchant charges on payments below Rs 2,000,” he said.

Starting October 15, 2026, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is introducing a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) of 0.4 per cent on person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions above Rs 2,000, while ensuring everyday consumer payments remain free.

Abdullah said one gets to hear that nearly Rs 20,000 crore is being spent to run the UPI ecosystem, which comes from the taxes paid by the people of the country.

“So, knowingly or unknowingly, we all are paying to run the UPI system. Today, we are paying from our taxes. So, if big industries and merchants pay, I don’t think anyone should have any objection,” Abdullah said.

Asked if industries are being set up in J&K after the abrogation of Article 370, the chief minister said that while a few have started, it is more because of the incentive scheme coming from the Centre.

“There is a lot of scope for agriculture, agri-processing, horticulture and dairy farming in J&K, which we are promoting,” Abdullah said.

On the renovated Jammu & Kashmir House, he said, “It was decided that the heritage block of the building will be renovated. Many people from J&K visit Amritsar for medical treatment. There is a big area behind the heritage building, where we will build a new block with rooms and a dormitory. This will facilitate the patients and their attendants,” he said.

“We used to have a good guest house in Chandigarh too, which was given to Ladakh after the bifurcation of J&K in 2019. But now we have got the permission to build a guest house in the city. Like Amritsar, many patients from J&K visit the PGIMER in Chandigarh,” Abdullah said.