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NEW DELHI: Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said that statehood was the “foundation” for restoring the Union territory’s special status.The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had declined an invitation from Abdullah’s National Conference (NC) to join a protest in Delhi, saying the demonstration should have focused on the restoration of Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir before it was revoked by the Modi government in August 2019.“Some people tell us to talk about (restoration of) Article 370 and J-K’s special status first… I want to ask them what does Article 370 or 371 mean without statehood?” Abdullah told reporters in Srinagar, without naming PDP president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti.“Whatever special status J&K would have, be it under Article 370 or anything else, the point is how to share the powers between the Centre and J&K. There is no sharing of powers between the Centre and a UT because a UT does not have any powers. All powers of a UT lie either with the Centre or the Lok Bhavan. All Cabinet decisions go to Lok Bhavan first,” the chief minister said.Abdullah described statehood as the foundation for restoring Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.“Where is the state list without the statehood? It is all Union list. That is why we say that to reach there, we have to lay a foundation, then we can build a building on that,” he added.Abdullah further stated that the NC had not forgotten the issue of special status.“We passed the resolution (on special status) on the first day of the assembly session after government formation. It (resolution) is still alive. This resolution can be discussed only after we have statehood,” he said.He also assured the people of Jammu and Kashmir that the party remained committed to the promises it had made.“I assure my people we stand by our promises and will remain steadfast. A new strategy and programme will soon be decided by the party leadership,” the chief minister added.(With PTI inputs)
