Srinagar, Apr 2:
National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah Tuesday defended his statement that his party would strive hard for restoring the terms of accession of Jammu and Kashmir, including the provisions for having a ‘sadr-e-riyasat’ and wazir-e-azam in the state. “I have not said anything wrong. I have only reiterated what is a reality. Is it not true that since the day J&K became the part of the country, it had its own ‘sadar-e-riyasat’ (president) and wazir-e-azam (prime minister) till 1965? Omar asked reporters at Pattan in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district. He said it was the stand of his party even when he was a minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government at the Centre. This is not something new the NC is saying. When I was a minister in the NDA under Vajpayee, then also it was in our manifesto, then also we were talking about the internal autonomy and also about pre-1953 position. If it was right to say these things at that time, then how am I suddenly wrong now? he said. The former state chief minister said his party wants the restoration of the terms of accession, including the restoration of internal autonomy, on the basis of which Jammu and Kashmir became the part of India. Our stand is same now as it was then. We want the restoration of the internal autonomy of the state and the restoration of the pre-1953 conditions on the basis of which this state had become the part of this country, he said. In a speech during a rally at Bandipora on Monday, Omar Abdullah had said J&K’s accession with India occurred with various constitutional safeguards for the state and if these safeguards were tampered with, the entire scheme of accession would be under question. He said the party would fight any attempt to fiddle with the state’s special status. “We won’t allow any more attack our on special status. On the contrary, we will strive to get back what was infringed upon. We will work towards getting back the coveted posts of ‘sadr-e-riyasat’ and prime minister for our state,” the NC vice-president had said. The NC vice president’s remarks has drawn sharp criticism from Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has asked the Congress and the ‘mahagatbandhan’ (opposition alliance) to spell out their stands over Omar Abdullah’s statement.
