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SRINAGAR: Jammu & Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah Tuesday said his now-viral autorickshaw ride after Monday’s protest in New Delhi for restoration of statehood was a sudden decision prompted by concerns after supporters of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) started following him.Videos of Omar sitting inside a green-and-yellow autorickshaw, carrying protest placards after the demonstration, have spread all across social media. “It was completely spontaneous,” he said, talking to reporters after a presser.“I started walking back after the protest when some of my party workers joined me. Then the Cockroach Party people also began following us,” Omar said. “I noticed the Delhi Police was getting very jumpy, with more police vehicles arriving. I thought these Cockroach Party supporters might end up being tear-gassed as people would assume I was leading them towards Rajpath and Parliament. I didn’t want that on my head,” he said. “Then I saw an autorickshaw, jumped in and left.”Earlier, addressing a press conference, Omar justified the protest for statehood in New Delhi but excluded restoration of Article 370 from it, saying the incumbent govt at the Centre, which has revoked the special status of J&K, will not restore it. “I have always told the people of Jammu & Kashmir that expecting the same people who took Article 370 away to hand it back to us on a platter is unrealistic,” he said. “We have to work to restore J&K’s special status, but we are not going to get it under this govt.”Omar said restoration of statehood is the first step towards any discussion on restoring special status for J&K, arguing that special status has little meaning without a state’s legislative powers. “What does Article 370 mean without a state? What is the meaning of Article 371 without a state?” he said.Asked about the absence of senior Congress leaders like Rahul Gandhi during the protest, Omar said the circumstances in New Delhi made it difficult for many opposition leaders to participate. “Those of us who were affected by the tear gas know what the situation was like.”He said postponing the protest was not a practical option despite the disruption.About his US president Donald Trump remarks on J&K statehood, he said, “I have never internationalized Kashmir. Did I ask Mr Trump to get our statehood?”
