News Jammu And Kashmir We have right to live with dignity, why to ask for statehood: Omar Abdullah amid uproar over Article 370

We have right to live with dignity, why to ask for statehood: Omar Abdullah amid uproar over Article 370

The development comes as uproar continued in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly for the third day on Friday as BJP members protested over the special status resolution, leading the Speaker to marshal out 12 opposition MLAs and Langate legislator Sheikh Khurshid.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in J-K Assembly. Image Source : SCREENGRABChief Minister Omar Abdullah in J-K Assembly.

Amid uproar in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly over the special status resolution, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the people found their voice after passage of special status resolution and the burden is off their shoulders. Addressing the first session of the J-K Assembly, he said after long time, he got the opportunity to speak on L-G's address and so much has changed, we lost a lot.

"We have the right to live with dignity, which is why we are asking for statehood and for relief of our wounds. The beginning is statehood. We should have rights on our jobs and on our lands. Let people come and invest, but what we have, we will protect them. We will not sell our assets. People say we will sell Gulf; they should come out of the misunderstanding," he said. 

He said this is not the assembly we wish or we want but this the assembly which can take us to that assembly what we want and we want full statehood to Jammu Kashmir which is promised by Home Minister and PM and I had successfully meetings. "And soon I believe that process will start," he said. 

"Last time I stood here, we were a state and had special place, status; all have been snatched," Omar Abdullah said in J-K Assembly. 

The development comes as uproar continued in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly for the third day on Friday as BJP members protested over the special status resolution, leading the Speaker to marshal out 12 opposition MLAs and Langate legislator Sheikh Khurshid. The House has been witnessing uproar from the last two days as BJP MLAs protested vociferously after the passage of the resolution. 

In the J&K Assembly, CM Omar Abdullah said "I write a lot on Twitter but I don't read at all. I don't have the habit of looking at Facebook and I only hear from my father on WhatsApp. I assure the people of Jammu and Kashmir that our agenda will not be decided by WhatsApp, Facebook or Twitter. Our agenda will be decided by the people of Jammu and Kashmir...The process of recruitment has started and it will also be accelerated. Here some suggestions were given by some members, which we will look into later. Our promises to the people regarding electricity have been mentioned and that too will be implemented soon. The promise of giving gas cylinders and increasing the ration scale to the people will also be put before the people very soon."

In the meantime, the BJP's Jammu and Kashmir unit staged a protest to denounce the resolution on the restoration of J-K's special status, which was passed by the assembly on Wednesday.

The resolution has sought a dialogue between the Centre and elected representatives for the restoration of the special status of the erstwhile state.

Led by party president Sat Paul Sharma, a group of BJP workers came out of the party headquarters at Trikuta Nagar in the outskirts of the city this afternoon and set ablaze a joint effigy of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his deputy Surinder Choudhary amid slogans against the National Conference-led government.