Had Article 370 stayed, PoK may have sought to rejoin J&K: Omar Abdullah

Oma
paid
t ibute
to
his
g a dfathe
a d
Natio al
Co fe e ce
fou de
Sheikh
Mohammad
Abdullah

SRINAGAR:
J&K
CM

Oma
Abdullah
c edited
Kashmi is
with
fighti g
the
1947
t ibal
i vasio
befo e
I dia
t oops
a ived
a d
said
people
ac oss
the
LoC
might
have
bee
p otesti g
to
ejoi
J&K
today
had
Ce t e
ot
evoked

A ticle
370
i
2019.Speaki g
at
a
I depe de ce
Day
eve t
Satu day,
Oma
paid
t ibute
to
his
g a dfathe
a d
Natio al
Co fe e ce
fou de
Sheikh
Mohammad
Abdullah,
po t ayi g
his
ole
i
esisti g
the
Pakista -backed
t ibal
i vasio
as
ce t al
to
J&K’s
histo y.“Befo e
I dia
A my
eached
he e,
it
was
the
people
of
J&K
who
fought
the
t ibal
i vade s,
who
fought
the
i filt ato s
se t
f om
ac oss,
who
fought
the
soldie s
se t
f om
ac oss,”
Oma
said.
“Thousa ds
of
b ave
people”
sac ificed
thei
lives,
he
said.Oma ’s
ema ks
came
as
his
govt
co ti ues
to
p ess
fo
esto atio
of
J&K’s
statehood,
while
Sheikh
Abdullah’s
legacy
emai s
a
political
fault
li e
afte
the
ab ogatio
of
A ticle
370.Rece t
u est
i
PoK
sha pe ed
Oma ’s
a gume t.
“Whe
I
see
the
situatio
today
ac oss
the
LoC,
I
ealise
that
the
decisio
take
by
ou
leade s
80
yea s
ago
fo
us
was
the
ight
decisio ,”
Oma
said,
u de sco i g
Sheikh
Abdullah
p efe i g
I dia’s
secula
ideals
ove
Pakista
a d
suppo ti g
J&K’s
accessio
i
1947.

Pakista i
secu ity
fi i g
has
killed
doze s
followi g
p otests
dema di g
abolitio
of
12
seats
i
the
53-membe
PoK
assembly
ese ved
fo
efugees
f om
J&K
who
settled
the e
afte
1947.
P oteste s
say
the
seats
let
Pakista i
pa ties
wield
i flue ce
i
PoK.Oma
said
the
co ditio
of
PoK
made
him
wo de
what
might
have
happe ed
had
J&K’s
situatio
ot
cha ged
i
2019.
“Pe haps…
people
of
that
pa t
of
J&K
would
be
p otesti g
to
ejoi
us
today,”
he
said.
“That
pa t
of
J&K
Kashmi
is
ou s.
We
co side
those
people
as
ou
ow .
No
o e
is
a
st a ge .
No
o e
is
a
outside .”Oma
also
made
fede alism
a
ce t al
pla k
of
his
speech.
“Fede alism
suffe s
whe
ce t al
age cies
sta t
i te fe i g
i
the
affai s
of
the
states,”
he
said.
Resto i g
J&K’s
statehood
should
be
pa t
of
a
b oade
effo t
to
st e gthe
all
states
athe
tha
fede alism
bei g
educed
to
“o ly
wo ds”,
he
added.

Oma
also
c iticised
NEET
a d
JEE,
sayi g
states
had
lost
thei
ight
to
co duct
admissio s
to
thei
medical
a d
e gi ee i g
colleges.
Natio al
exami atio s
made
se se
fo
atio al
i stitutio s
such
as
IITs,
IIMs
a d
NIFT,
but
state
i stitutio s
should
etai
the
ight
to
co duct
exams
a d
g a t
admissio s,
he
said.