Omar meets with Amit Shah to seek timeline for early statehood restoration

This is Abdullah's second meeting with the Union minister after taking over as the first chief minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir which was carved out after the reorganisation of the erstwhile state in August 2019

New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah here to discuss a range of key issues, including the early restoration of statehood, officials said. This is Abdullah’s second meeting with the Union minister after taking over as the first chief minister of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir which was carved out after the reorganisation of the erstwhile state in August 2019.

Abdullah remains optimistic about an early restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and would probably work out a possible timeline. Besides this issue, the chief minister will also seek clarity on the Transaction of Business Rules (TBR) to get a clear sense of the powers of the elected government over various departments.

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On Wednesday, Abdullah said there were a lot of issues, including restoration of statehood, on which he needs to talk to the Union Home Minister.

“There are a lot of issues on which I need to talk with the home minister. Currently, J&K is a UT and we are expecting statehood. The home minister has a different role in the UT,” he told media persons on the sidelines of the 18th Annual Tourism Summit 2024 organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here.

Earlier, Abdullah met with Shah on October 23 during his first visit to the national capital after assuming office on October 16.

While this meeting was seen as more of a courtesy call, officials said that Abdullah apprised the Union home minister about the situation and also discussed the issue of restoration of statehood.