Bring back PoK, but also get China-occupied Jammu and Kashmir: Omar Abdullah

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday, 6 March, said they would be grateful to the BJP-led Union government if alongside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), it also retrieves the part of the union territory under the illegal occupation of China.

He came down heavily on the BJP leaders for accusing the National Conference (NC) of insulting Jammu and Kashmir's last ruler Maharaja Hari Singh and challenged them to give just one instance when the ruling party or any other Kashmir-based party insulted the Dogra ruler, while the BJP disintegrated and downgraded his Muslim-majority state.

"The foreign minister (S. Jaishankar) is saying that we will get back the part of J&K which is under the occupation of Pakistan. Who has stopped them? Have we ever said, 'Do not get it back'?" the chief minister asked, while he was winding up the discussion on the motion of thanks to lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha's address at the assembly in Jammu.

Jaishankar, speaking during a session at the Chatham House think-tank in London on Wednesday, 5 March, said the Kashmir dispute would be solved after the "return of the stolen part of Kashmir which is under illegal Pakistani occupation".

Referring to the speech of BJP members in the House, he said the Congress was targeted for leaving Haji Peer in the Uri sector to Pakistan.

"During the Kargil war, there was an opportunity to get back PoK because it was Pakistan which attacked us. If you were so willing, you would have brought back that part; what stopped you?... When you look at the map of Jammu and Kashmir given by the maharaj, one part is also with China, but no one wants to discuss that," he said.

He said when the BJP-led central government brings back PoK, they should "do us a favour" and also bring that part of Jammu and Kashmir which is presently in China.

Countering the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly, the BJP's Sunil Sharma, who accused the ruling party of insulting the maharaja, he dared the opposition party to give him a single instance when the last Dogra ruler was insulted by the National Conference or for that matter by the PDP or the Congress.

"You have distorted the map of Maharaja-sahab by separating Ladakh from Jammu and Kashmir and finishing his state laws, especially related to land and jobs, which were meant to provide safeguards to the people," he said.

Abdullah said the BJP is justifying the separation by saying that it was the long-pending demand of the people of Ladakh.

"Have you asked them? Have you tried to find out?" he inquired.

"From Day 1, the people of Kargil were against this decision. The Buddhists of Ladakh who distributed sweets are today of the opinion that they were better placed with Jammu and Kashmir. They walked all the way from Leh to Delhi to get back their rights," he said.

He added that Himachal Pradesh looked better placed, because one has to give 70 per cent of jobs to the local population if someone sets up an industry or a hotel in the hilly state.

The chief minister also took a dig at the LoP for his derogatory remarks against the 13 July 1931 martyrs and said, "Though we have different political ideologies, they deserve respect for rising up against the autocracy and their sacrifice led to the formation of this assembly."

Until 2019 and the abrogation of Article 370, the date 13 July was observed as a public holiday in the state of Jammu and Kashmir to commemorate the 22 men who fell to the bullets of Dogra Maharaja's soldiers outside Srinagar central jail in 1931.

That holiday, along with the 5 December holiday to mark the birth anniversary of NC founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, was scrapped by the lieutenant governor's administration of the now-union territory after the abrogation of Article 370.

"Their (the 13 July martyrs') only fault was that they were Muslims. In the rest of the country, the people who rose against autocracy are respected and nobody can dub them as traitors," Abdullah said.

He said that whether 13 July and 5 December are declared holidays or not will not matter, however, because the people respect those honoured on those dates from their hearts.

Abdullah added that in his last tenure as chief minister, he was also planning to lower the number of holidays and 5 December was one of the dates on his mind as well.

And yet, he said, "We have never harmed the legacy of the maharaja. Have we changed the name of any institution which was named after the Dogra rulers?" he said, in an obvious dig at the BJP's pan-India drive to rename and 'reclaim' various sites associated with the British Raj or Muslim rulers and heroes.

Earlier, the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister had in his speech assured people that the National Conference-led government would fulfil all its poll promises — including those related to prisoners and "arbitrary" termination of government employees.

He said his government had been formed to serve for a full five years, and expressed hope that the next budget session of the assembly would be thrown open by a governor instead of a lieutenant governor.

Concluding the discussion on the motion of thanks to Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, Abdullah said a lot was said about the NC manifesto.

“When we put forth our manifesto before the people, we told them that give us five years... We assure the people that we will fulfil all the promises from A to Z, whether related to prisoners or termination of government employees. We are oath-bound to do that,” the chief minister said.

In its manifesto, the National Conference had promised to prioritise the release of political prisoners and youth who have been unjustly detained in jails, who were not involved in serious crimes. It had also pledged to seek amnesty for all political prisoners.

The manifesto also talked about ending "unjust" termination of government employees and said “it will address and rectify cases of unjust job terminations, ensuring fair treatment and job security for all employees”.

Abdullah also referred to the LoP Sharma's speech defending the use of the Public Safety Act for detainments and said, “if you are using PSA, then your case is weak."

"You put me under preventive detention (in the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370) for six months using the PSA because there were no real charges against me," Abdullah recalled. "But it is better to use relevant sections of the law against the stone-pelters or overground workers who have been booked under the PSA.”

Referring to the some members' criticism of the LG's address, Abdullah said the LG cannot replace his earlier speech made in the November session shortly after the formation of the government and that this latest speech must be read as an addendum to that speech.

“Some (members) termed it a love letter (from NC to BJP)... I do not want to go into that, but I want to make it clear that we made new additions to our manifesto and next year, I hope that when we will meet (for the next budget session), there will be a governor instead of a lieutenant governor,” he said.

He also questioned Sharma's linking of Article 370 with terrorism and arrested development of the region, saying, “Tell me, were the developmental projects he spoke about possible only with the abrogation of Article 370?”

Most of these projects started before 2014, he said, and challenged the BJP leader to tell the House about one project that was not possible to be completed in the presence of Article 370.

Abdullah also questioned the practical application of the political reservation granted to the Scheduled Tribes, noting that the number of Gujjar leaders in the House had dropped from nine to six in the union territory.

“What miracle happened after abrogation of Article 370? Shakti Raj Parihar (BJP) talked about ending nepotism, corruption and terrorism while the LoP is blaming Pakistan for terrorism. Who is right?

“If Pakistan is behind the terrorism, then why blame Article 370...? If Article 370 was responsible, then why did terrorism spread to the Jammu region after its abrogation, the areas which were declared terrorism-free during my (previous) tenure,” he said.

The attacks on pilgrims in Reasi, civilians in Rajouri and other places in the past few years stood testimony that Article 370 was not responsible for terrorism, he added.

He added that the BJP members raised the issue of fraud in the Jal Jeevan Mission, which also showed that corruption was not ended by the BJP central government or the abrogation of Article 370.

With PTI inputs