J&K CM Omar Abdullah meets PM Modi in Delhi

Srinagar, Oct 24 (IANS) Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi during his first visit to the national capital after assuming office last week.

This is Omar Abdullah’s first meeting with PM Modi after being sworn in as the Chief Minister of J&K. On Wednesday, Omar Abdullah met the Union Home Minister Amit Shah and according to reports, Omar submitted the resolution passed by J&K Cabinet for restoration of statehood to the Home Minister.

Omar was expected to submit the statehood resolution to the Prime Minister on Thursday however there is no confirmation as of yet whether he has submitted the resolution.

The Chief Minister also met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and during the meeting, the Defence Minister conveyed PM Modi’s interest in ensuring progress and development of J&K.

The Defence Minister also told the Chief Minister that the Union government is committed to support the initiatives that will bring prosperity and stability to the region.

Omar Abdullah also met Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari and discussed the ongoing road projects and future developmental initiatives in J&K. Their meeting focused on the expansion of road infrastructure, including critical highway projects and the enhancement of transportation facilities across J&K.

NC headed by former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah had made the restoration of Article 370 and statehood for J&K the main electoral plank.

Restoration of statehood to J&K has been assured both by the Union Home Minister and the Prime Minister. Even before the Supreme Court, the union government filed an affidavit that statehood would be restored to J&K as soon as possible.

NC won 42, BJP 29, Congress 6, PDP 3, CPI (M) 1, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) 1, Peoples Conference 1 and independents 7 seats in the 90-member Legislative Assembly for which the election were held after 10 years in J&K.

Six independent MLAs later joined the NC while the Congress supports the Omar Abdulla-led government, but said it would not join the government unless statehood is restored to J&K.

On August 5, 2019, articles 370 and 35A were abrogated and J&K was divided into two UTs of J&K and Ladakh.

--IANS

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