Sonamarg Tunnel inauguration: Omar showering praises on PM Modi for statehood irking Mehbooba, others

Omar Abdullah shows a new side

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who is also vice-president of the pro-greater autonomy National Conference (NC), has been leaving no stone unturned since October 17, 2024, to motivate Prime Minister Narendra Modi to grant full state status to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), to achieve his immediate objective, he has been pursuing a line that is totally different from the line he, his father, Farooq Abdullah, his grandfather, the late Sheikh Abdullah, his party, and his government (2009-2014) ruthlessly pursued to create an impression across the globe that J&K was a disputed territory; drive the frontier state away from New Delhi; promote separatism, communalism and politics of exclusiveness in Kashmir; and destroy Jammu and Ladakh socially, culturally, religiously, economically and politically.

The memories of what Omar Abdullah said on March 25, 2013, as Chief Minister on the floor of the Assembly in Jammu and on November 6, 201,5 are still fresh to be forgotten. These memories still linger in the nation’s mind. On March 25, he had, inter-alia, said: “By repeating the word ‘atoot ang’ (integral part) time and again, you cannot change the status of political issue of J&K. To change scenario you have to win over the hearts of people of J&K. I have always said that Kashmir will be true part of India when you win over the hearts of the people (in this case Muslims) and care for their hopes and aspiration (read greater autonomy bordering on sovereignty). If you will reject them there will be alienation. Every Kashmiri is not Pakistani. When they get rejected they resort to raising such slogans (read Azadi, Pakistan Zindabad, etc, etc) which they do not believe by heart and they do it to vent their anger. If you think that Kashmir civil society had no effect on (the 2001 Parliament terror attack case convict) Afzal Guru’s hanging (on February 9, 2013), you are wrong. They are not so naïve. They ask for a reply from the for the different treatment meted out to Verrapan gang members, killers of Punjab Chief Minister (Beant Singh) and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi vis-à-vis Afzal Guru. I have no reply for them but someday we all have to give them a reply…”[1]

And, on November 7, Omar Abdullah had, among other things, said: “Economic packages will not resolve the political issue of J&K as it had not done in the past…The packages are good. I said this much to (PM) Manmohan Singh and (AICC president) Sonia Gandhi at the Anantnag (Kashmir) rally (Oct 28, 2009) that J&K is a political issue that needs a political solution (read something more than Article 370 under which the solitary State of J&K enjoyed a very special status and residuary powers) There is perhaps no Chief Minister since Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad who has not got package (from the Centre)…We wanted to hear about insaniyat and where it was when our youth was burnt alive in Udhampur. Where was insaniyat after Dadri and Himachal (read so-called lynchings)? To talk about democracy when hundreds were detained ahead of the rally…When armed (RSS) rally was allowed in Jammu while the force was used to disperse a peaceful procession in Kashmir…Kashmiriyat we saw in the Assembly when (MLA) Engineer Rashid was attacked (by BJP MLAs over his beef party organized on October 8, 2015, at MLA Hostel, Srinagar).”[2]

What these are only a few of the several such statements that Omar Abdullah made between October 2002, when he resigned from the A B Vajpayee ministry, and November 6, 2024, when his government passed a “special status” resolution. All these statements only served to demonstrate that he and the NC never really considered J&K an integral part of the nation and that they considered Kashmiri Muslims a race apart entitled to special treatment and a special dispensation.

Welcome address

On January 13, 2025, PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the Sonamarg Tunnel – earlier known as the Z-Mode tunnel. This two-lane bi-directional road tunnel between Gagangir and Sonamarg in Ganderbal district, Kashmir, was built at a cost of over Rs.2,700 crore and is situated at an altitude of over 8,650 feet above sea level. The tunnel will enhance all-weather connectivity between Srinagar and Sonamarg en route to Leh, Ladakh, bypassing landslide and avalanche spots. It will benefit both tourists and locals during harsh winters. It also holds strategic importance as it will ensure better access to the Trans-Himalayan Ladakh region.

Before the inauguration of the tunnel by the Prime Minister, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah welcomed him and addressed an impressive gathering. He didn’t talk about Article 370 and Article 35A. Nor did he talk about the November 6 Special status resolution and in-jail anti-state operatives, or police verification regime. He only showered praises on the Prime Minister and what the latter did to bring J&K closer to Delhi; he denounced the cult of terror and declared that terrorism will not be allowed to succeed. Besides, he very politely and respectfully reminded the Prime Minister of the promises his government had held out from time to time after August 5, 2019 – delimitation, assembly elections, and restoration of statehood at an appropriate time.

What exactly did Omar Abdullah say while delivering the welcome address? He, among other things, said: “Prime Minister, when you came to Srinagar for a programme after getting a third term (in office), people started believing your words. You talked about three important things which included your efforts to bridge ‘Dil (heart) ki duri aur Delhi se duri’, and you have proved it by your work. This is your second function in J&K within 15 days after inaugurating (virtually from Delhi) the separate Jammu Railway Division (on January 6)…The inauguration of projects like the ‘Sonamarg Tunnel’ would definitely bridge the gap between J&K’s ‘dil’ and Delhi…You also promised (assembly) elections within four months and you stayed true to your words. People got an opportunity to take part in the voting and today I am participating in this programme as Chief Minister…The biggest positive of the election was that there was no complaint of rigging, misuse of official machinery, or re-poll anywhere and the credit for it goes to you, your tea,m and the Election Commission of India…I belong to a political regime whose thousands of leaders and workers have been killed in the last 35 years because we were not ready to see the country being divided…The Prime Minister’s presence in the tunnel inauguration programme is a testament to the fact that those who carried out the terror attack (at the site on October 21, 2024, leaving seven innocent persons, including a doctor, dead) do not want the development of this region and the country.

They do not want a peaceful atmosphere and democracy. But they can never be successful. They will always have to face defeat here and we will never allow them to cause any harm to democracy…People, including his colleagues, ask him about statehood restoration. I tell them that the Prime Minister kept his promise of elections and so my heart says that very soon, you will fulfill your third promise as well and J&K will once again get the status of a state…”[3]

Right things at the right time

The Prime Minister started his inaugural address by praising Omar Abdullah. He first talked about photos Omar Abdullah had taken of Sonamarg and shared on X, which were reposted by Narendra Modi, and then of Omar Abdullah’s participation in the Srinagar marathon organized on October 20, 2024. In fact, the Prime Minister, who named Omar Abdullah only once, inter-alia, said: “For the first time, an international marathon was held in Srinagar… The Chief Minister also participated in it and the video went viral. I especially congratulated him on that when he met me soon after in Delhi. During our talk, I could see his excitement. He talked about the marathon in detail…(Yeh Modi hai, wada karta hai toh nibhata hai. Har kaam ka ek samay hai, aur sahi samay pe sahi kaam bhi hone wale hai.) You have to believe that this is Modi…If he makes promises, he fulfills them too. There is a right time for everything, and the right things will happen at the right time.”[4]

“There is an atmosphere of peace in J&K and we have seen its effect on tourism. Kashmir is writing a new saga of development today…J&K of the 21st century is scripting a new chapter of development…The region is regaining its identity as ‘Paradise on Earth’, leaving behind the difficult days of the past,” the Prime Minister, among other things, also said. [5]

The fact of the matter is that the Prime Minister didn’t oblige Omar Abdullah as far as his demand for the restoration of statehood was concerned. He only reiterated what his government had been saying since August 5, 2019, when J&K’s special status was abrogated and the state itself was divided into two Union Territories. It had been saying that state status would be granted “at an appropriate time.”

Kashmiri reaction

It was expected that Omar Abdullah’s welcome address would provide an opportunity for his political foes and bitter critics in Kashmir to beat him right and left and denounce and taunt him and it did happen. They all took a dig at Omar Abdullah for his praise of Prime Minister Modi and skipped what they called “politics and political issues of J&K.”

Former Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief, Mehbooba Mufti, contrasted the approach of the current leadership with that of former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. “In 2003, Vajpayee, despite BJP’s ideological stance, showed faith in Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s vision of ‘peace with dignity’ when the PDP had only 16 MLAs…The present J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, despite having 50 MLAs, has ‘appeased and normalized’ Delhi’s unilateral actions of August 2019 that cleaved and robbed J&K of its special status,” she said while tearing into Omar Abdullah. In fact, she used the opportunity to target Prime Minister Modi. A report in the Srinagar-based English language daily, Rising Kashmir, in this regard, said: “Mehbooba Mufti highlighted the difference between a ‘short-sighted politician and a true statesman,’ implying that Vajpayee’s inclusive approach was missing in today’s leadership. The PDP leader reiterated her party’s commitment to safeguarding J&K’s rights and identity.”[6]

The PDP’s youth wing chief and MLA, Waheed Parra, also didn’t lag behind. He accused Omar Abdullah of helping New Delhi to depoliticize J&K. “He (Omar Abdullah) looks like a spokesperson for normalization. He is helping them to depoliticize J&K. He didn’t talk about politics, about 370, about dialogue and reconciliation, or about youth in prisons. It was all about I, me and myself, about the state, about power,” Waheed Parra said[7]. Another senior PDP leader and former law-maker Khurshid Alam went to the extent of saying that “Chief Minister spoke like BJP spokesperson and betrayed people’s mandate.”[8]

Former Srinagar Municipal Corporation Mayor, Junaid Azim Mattu, took the opportunity to taunt and ridicule Omar Abdullah. His January 13 post on social media platform X read like this: “Today welcoming the same Modi JI has become Halaal (permissible) for Omar Abdullah. When I received the Hon’ble PM at Srinagar during my term as Mayor, NC bobbing and talking heads came out with brickbats and abuses. Today warming up to the BJP, down on two knees, is apparently noble.”

Prize for facelessness goes to CM

Earlier on January 9, 2025, Peoples Conference (PC) chairman and legislator from Handwara, Sajjad Lone, had also criticized and ridiculed Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for praising the BJP and Prime Minister Modi after criticizing them during the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. “If facelessness had a face, our Chief Minister’s face comes to my mind. If facelessness had a voice the speech of our Chief Minister at the digital inaugural ceremony of the rail to Srinagar comes to my mind. The same Chief Minister sahib who gave interview after interview saying the BJP has done nothing…And look how he was singing praises in honour of the BJP PM. For me it is believable. I always knew that it was a fixed match. In the election period, the BJP was attacking them on a daily basis to make them look credible in the eyes of the Kashmiri people. And how long will the BJP decide who we will vote for? When will our voters mature…So the prize for facelessness goes to our CM. And the prize for shamelessness goes to those so-called intellectuals, so-called opinion makers who probably being a part of the fixed match created an environment — where the present CM enjoyed a monopoly to paint all his rivals with the BJP brush. And these so-called intellectual’s opinion-makers came on social media and other forums facilitating the ‘All others are BJP’ discourse,” Sajad Lone had, among other things, said.[9]

Omar’s praises for Modi part of a strategy

The question to be asked is: Why Omar Abdullah has been avoiding confrontation with the Centre and showering praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi whom he attacked from right and left between October 2002 and October 2024 and what opinion-makers in and outside Srinagar say about Omar Abdullah’s approach? Only a few opinion-makers have reflected on this issue. Some of them include Kashmir-watchers like Zahoor Malik, Chief Editor of Srinagar-based English language daily, Greater Kashmir; Noor Ahmad Baba, former Professor of Political Science at the University of Kashmir and virtually a part of the Kashmir movement; and Rajat Sharma, chairman and Editor-in-Chief, IndiaTV.

Zahoor Malik has, inter-alia, said: “Political observers say the public display of bonhomie through the exchange of warm gestures with the Prime Minister have consolidated the Chief Minister’s position and image at the government and political circles. It has sent a positive message. While the basic mechanism of the dual power system is not going to undergo major changes for the time being but functioning of the Omar Abdullah government and doing more things on the governance front may become easier for it.”[10]

Noor Ahmad Baba has said: “So far Omar has tried to avoid antagonizing Delhi…His priority has been to secure statehood through persuasion and dialogue. If that won’t work, he might want to change his course.”[11]

And, the whole upshot of Rajat Sharma’s formulations is: “Omar Abdullah’s government is working in tandem with the Centre and this has shown good results. Like Delhi, J&K is a Union Territory. Omar Abdullah has the same powers as Chief Minister like Arvind Kejriwal. For ten years, Kejriwal spent much of his time blaming the Centre and Prime Minister Modi. The Lt. Governor also stopped several schemes initiated by Kejriwal, but the ultimate losers were the people of Delhi.”[12]

Whatever their views, opinions, and conclusions, the fact of the matter is that Omar Abdullah has been working as per the strategy calculated to mislead the Prime Minister and Home Minister Amit Shah. He knows that there is but one way in which he and the NC could achieve what lies embodied in their 2024 election manifesto (pre-1953 politico-constitutional position) and that is by achieving full state status for J&K. There is no fundamental difference between the NC and other Kashmiri Muslim parties, including the PDP and the PC. Their ideology and objective are almost the same. The only difference is that Omar Abdullah knows that he cannot move forward without the support of the Centre. New Delhi has to be very careful.

Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.

References:

[1] Accession to India was on three subjects: Omar – Mar 26, 2013, Early Times

[2] PM Modi’s package will not address political issues in J&K: Omar Abdullah – Nov 7, 2015, Daily Excelsior

[3] PM Modi-Omar Abdullah bonhomie to an absent NC MP: 5 takeaways from Z-Morh tunnel inauguration in Sonamarg – Jan 14, 2025, Indian Express

[4] Will keep my promise with people of J&K: PM Modi – Jan 14, 2025, Greater Kashmir

[5] In Jammu And Kashmir, PM Modi Assures All Promises Will Be Fulfilled – Jan 13, 2025, Daily Excelsior

[6] Mehbooba Mufti criticizes J&K CM for ‘Normalizing’ August 2019 decisions – Jan 13, 2025, Kashmir News Service

[7] PM Modi-Omar Abdullah bonhomie to an absent NC MP: 5 takeaways from Z-Morh tunnel inauguration in Sonamarg – Jan 14, 2025, Indian Express

[8] Chief Minister spoke like BJP spokesperson and betrayed people’s mandate – Jan 13, 2025, Greater Kashmir

[9] Jammu and Kashmir: Lone flays Omar over his speech during digital inaugural of rail to Srinagar – Jan 9, 2025, The Hindustan Times

[10] Right development at right time for Omar Abdullah government – Jan 14, 2025, Greater Kashmir

[11] Omar Abdullah: A Chief Minister Circumscribed – Jan 9, 2025, Frontline

[12] Why Omar Abdullah praised Modi? – Jan 14, 2025, India TV News

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