Srinagar, July 27: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said that only Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah can take a decision on the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
"The decision on restoration of statehood can be taken by only two persons – the prime minister and the home minister. That is why we held the protest for statehood in Delhi," Omar told reporters in Anantnag district.
Responding to a question on BJP leaders' statements that there would be neither restoration of statehood nor Article 370, Omar said he did not have the time to respond to every statement made by the LoP.
"He gives statements ten times a day. I don't have so much time to answer every statement," the CM said
Asserting that statehood would eventually be restored, Omar said the decision rests solely with the Prime Minister and the union Home Minister.
"There will be statehood here. When will it happen? This will not happen by asking him (LoP). He will not even know. He will wake up in the morning and read in the newspaper that statehood has been restored here," Omar said.
He said only the Prime Minister and the Home Minister have to make the decision. “They will not consult the LoP, but will decide themselves".
On delay in Business Rules- which define the functioning and distribution of powers between the elected government and the Lieutenant Governor in the union Territory, the Chief Minister said they were still waiting for feedback from the Lieutenant Governor's office.
"There are business rules, but these are not the business rules that we want. We had sent a proposal of business rules to the Government of India. They asked for some changes in it. We made those changes as well," he said.
The Chief Minister said that before resubmitting the revised draft to the Centre, the government decided to seek informal consultations and shared a copy with the Lieutenant Governor's office.
"Before sending it back to the Central Government, we thought it would be better to consult some people informally. We also sent a copy informally to the Lok Bhawan. But unfortunately, no response has come from the Lok Bhawan," he said.
