Budget Session – I: PM Modi increasing Duree between Kashmiri Muslims and New Delhi, says CM Omar Abdullah

First budget session after J&K’s special status abrogation

Day 1: The 40-day long budget session of the J&K Legislative Assembly with 22 sittings was started in Jammu on March 3, 2025. It was the first-ever budget session held after the abrogation of J&K’s special status and creation of Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh on August 5, 2019 out of the erstwhile State of J&K, or after seven long years, the last being held in Jammu in 2018. The session started with Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha’s address to the Legislative Assembly. The March 3 address was 38-page long and it dealt with 71 points.

No reference to constitutional guarantees

His address talked about people’s power, employment, sustainable development, social inclusiveness, expansion of the economy for enhancing the overall quality of life, digital governance, public service delivery system, effective grievance redressal regime, promotion of socio-economic programs designed to bridge developmental gaps and strengthen public trust, infrastructure advancements, youth, farmers, connectivity, energy sector, solarisation, smart metering, irrigation, tourism, Amarnath Ji Yatra, industrial development, handicraft sector, traditional crafts, agriculture sector, healthcare, drug addiction, education, green transport initiatives, panchayati raj, women empowerment, social welfare, rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants (in this case persecuted and internally-displaced Kashmiri Hindus), tribal communities and reservation, sports, cultural heritage, Mubarak Mandi, Jammu, SPS Museum, Srinagar, Dogra Art Museum, SRS Library in Jammu, digitization of revenue records, recruitment process, press freedom etc et.

The LG also reflected on the issue of restoration of statehood. He said: “One of the foremost aspirations of the people of J&K is the restoration of full statehood. My government remains steadfast in its commitment to addressing this legitimate desire of the citizens of J&K. My government recognizes the emotional and political significance of the statehood for the people and is actively engaging with all stakeholders to facilitate this process in a manner that ensures peace, stability, and progress.”[1]

The most notable aspect of the LG’s March 3 address was that it didn’t talk about what his first-ever November 4, 2004 address to the Legislative Assembly had called “constitutional guarantees.” It also didn’t refer to the statehood resolution adopted by the Omar Abdullah Cabinet, at its first meeting, on October 18, 2024.

The November 4 address had, inter alia, read like this: “The aspiration for a return to the statehood remains strong! Hon’ble Prime Minister, on several occasions, has already expressed his commitment to restoring statehood, which has been a source of rekindled hope and reassurance for the people. The Council of Ministers of J&K has recently passed a unanimous resolution calling for the immediate restoration of statehood. This resolution reflects the collective will of the elected representatives, echoing the aspirations of the people for the reinstatement of full democratic governance. My government will make all efforts for restoration of full statehood and constitutional guarantees available to the state. It would be a befitting reciprocation of the faith reposed by the people of J&K in our democratic institutions. In the meantime, I urge all stakeholders to work together as one team and extend full support to my government in fulfilling the hopes and aspirations of the people. My government is fully committed to implementing the promises made to the people for further political empowerment.”[2]

Omar in his true colours

Convinced that the LG’s address, which was silent on Articles 35A and 370 and reorganisation of J&K, would be surely used by his Kashmir-based political foes and critics to tear into his government and lambast his NC, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah used the first day of the session to tell Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP that his government didn’t appreciate their Kashmir policy, that his government and party still considered J&K a disputed territory between India and Pakistan, that his government and his party wanted Prime Minister Narendra Modi to pursue the line of late Prime Ministers A B Vajpayee (BJP) and Manmohan Singh (Congress), and that his NC would not forge any kind of alliance with the BJP.

It would be no exaggeration if one may say so that Omar Abdullah contradicted the LG’s address, which was prepared by none other than his own government, to conciliate his political foes and critics and tell them that his views on J&K in general and Kashmir in particular were no different.

What did Omar Abdullah say in the Legislative Assembly on March 3? Asserting that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh carried forward his predecessor A B Vajpayee’s initiative to resolve the “Kashmir imbroglio with great honesty” and “during his (Manmohan Singh’s) tenure, India and Pakistan had come very close to achieving a breakthrough,” he said: “At the international level, he (Manmohan Singh) tried to resolve issues related to J&K. The initiative on this account was not taken by Manmohan Singh Sahib. He got it (an initiative to resolve the Kashmir imbroglio) as a (political) legacy. The beginning was made by his (Singh’s) predecessor, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sahab, and (President of Pakistan) General Pervez Musharraf. In between, the regime at the Centre changed and Manmohan Singh came to power. If he had wished so, he could have discontinued that initiative. But he carried forward Vajpayee’s initiative, taking this political legacy as a great responsibility…In all sincerity, he (Singh) took it forward, although the situation between also deteriorated. If I say that the two nations (India and Pakistan) had come so close to achieving a breakthrough and resolving this issue during the tenure of Manmohan Singh and Musharraf. I don’t feel that I would be able to see that era or that stage ever again in my lifetime…He was fortunate enough to work very closely with him (Singh) and learn a lot from him…As the Prime Minister, he established Working Groups (on J&K) to heal the wounds of people.”[3]

Omar Abdullah also talked about Article 370/special status and relations between NC and the BJP after the J&K budget session’s inaugural day proceedings. About Article 370, he, among other things, said: “The resolution brought by his government on Article 370 and passed by the House, during the previous session (November 4-9, 2024) of the J&K Legislature, was still alive. Hence, there was no need to talk about it again…Whatever we had to do on that account, we already accomplished it during the first session. Our resolution still stands. It was passed by the House. PDP and other parties helped in its passage…Contrary to speculations that any resolution related to the special status of J&K would be rejected. It was not rejected. To date it is alive. So where is the need to talk about it again? Had we not brought that resolution then, it would have been rational to talk about it now. We brought it into the House (during the last session in November) and it was passed by an overwhelming majority. Now what else do we have to talk about?”

As for the possibility of alliance between the NC and the BJP, Omar Abdullah said: “There is neither any scope nor any need for the alliance (with BJP). We are not talking about it. No talks have taken place on this account. Our ideologies and our thoughts don’t align. The same is true about J&K also.”[4]

That the patience of the wounded, under attack and desperate for statehood, Omar Abdullah had almost ended and that he would abandon the conciliatory approach that he adopted between November 9, 2024 and January 13, 2025 towards the Narendra Modi government had become clear on February 23-24 and 28, 2025.

On February 23, Omar Abdullah took a U-turn on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). At Idea Exchange event (Indian Express), he, inter-alia, said: “I have no problem with political parties having a problem with EVMs. They are free to…Are there sort of areas of the elections that perhaps could give us some cause for concern? Yes. I think how voter lists are kept, I mean, voters get added and subtracted, how numbers suddenly sort of jump off voters in particular areas, this might be an area of concern…”[5]

That he took a contradictory stand on EVMs could be seen from what he said on the same issue on December 17, 2024. On December 17, he echoed Home Minister Amit Shah on the Congress and EVMs. In an interview to the news agency, PTI, he had, among other things, said: “When you (Rahul Gandhi) get 100 plus MPs using the same EVMs, and you celebrate that as a sort of victory for your party (Congress), you can’t then, a few months later turn around and say…we don’t like these EVMs because now the election results (in Maharashtra) aren’t going the way we would like them to.”

On December 16, speaking at the Agenda AajTak event, Amit Shah had mocked Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, for “celebrating” the Congress’s Lok Sabha performance after the party won 99 seats – its best performance in a decade. The Home Minister had, inter-alia, said: ‘Rahul Gandhi believes that he won the Lok Sabha elections, so the EVMs were fine. In Jharkhand, Congress came to power, so the EVMs were fine. But, when the people defeated them in Maharashtra, the EVMs became faulty. It’s like ‘a bad workman blaming his tools’.”[6]

And, on February 28, Omar Abdullah held Prime Minister Narendra Modi responsible for widening the gulf between Kashmir and New Delhi, and also pooh-poohed the claim of the Modi government on normalcy in this frontier region.

Speaking in New Delhi, Omar Abdullah remarked on the difference between former Prime Minister A B Vajpayee and current Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said: “PM Modi’s approach on Kashmir has increased ‘duree’ (distance) in the hearts of Kashmiris (in this case Kashmiri Muslims) with Delhi. Vajpayeeji didn’t remove Article 370. He talked of ‘Insaniyat, Jamhuriyat, and Kashmiriyat.’ He used to say friends can be changed but not neighbours. There is a difference…The ‘divisive’ campaign led by BJP leaders at various levels is condemnable…It affects Kashmiris psychologically, deepening the rift between the region and the rest of the country.”[7]

At the same media event organized by India Today, Omar Abdullah also said that the normalcy in J&K after the abrogation of Article 370, as claimed by the Centre, was not organic, but forced. He also emphasised that the security situation in Kashmir was far from “normal” as indicated by the closure of Jamia Masjid in Srinagar on Shab-e-Baraat.

“If what is happening today in J&K is organic, then nothing like it. If it is driven out of fear, then there is a problem. Because you can only control a situation through fear for a limited time. If it’s organic, it will remain forever. But I will hazard that the security forces and the people don’t believe it is organic…If they (the Centre) believed it was organic, they wouldn’t have closed Jamia Masjid to prevent (APHC chairman) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq from having his father-in-law’s namaz-e-janaza. The reason they cited was that they feared a law and order situation breaking out. A law and order situation doesn’t break out when normalcy is organic; it breaks out when normalcy is forced. What we have in parts of J&K today is not organic normalcy, it is forced normalcy,” he said.[8]

Just three days before (February 25), during a discussion on the News18 India television channel, Omar Abdullah had said that “there has been a decline in separatist activity (in J&K) since 2019…”[9], What he said about the separatist activity had caused a sort of furore in Kashmir with parties like the PDP and the Peoples Conference taunting, ridiculing and criticizing Omar Abdullah and the NC-led government.

Contrast what Omar Abdullah said on February 28 with what he had said on January 13, 2025, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi while delivering the welcome address. The occasion was the inauguration of the Sonamarg tunnel in Kashmir. Omar Abdullah had, 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 duree aur Delhi se duree, 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 team 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 fulfil your third promise as well and J&K will once again get the status of a state…”[10]

What he said on February 23 and 28 only served to indicate the direction in which Omar Abdullah could go to take forward his divisive agenda. That he could play a mischief anytime could also be seen from what the NC chief spokesperson and MLA Tanvir Sadiq said on March 1. Virtually threatening the Modi Government, he, inter-alia, said: “There is a verdict from the Supreme Court as well as promises made by the Prime Minister and the Home Minister regarding the restoration of statehood. Additionally, there is a resolution of the elected government on the matter. We will wait for some time, and as Omar sahab has said, if it does not happen, then there is Plan B and Plan C.”[11]

Criticism of LG’s address

As was expected, People’s Conference chief and MLA, Sajad Lone, and PDP MLA, Waheed-ur-Rehman Para, reprimanded the NC for the LG address. Sajad Lone said: “The Governor’s address is indistinguishable from a possible BJP speech, had they been in power. There seems to be total ideological overlap. No mention, not even remotely of Article 370, Article 35 A. No mention of 5 August 2019. No mention of Reorganisation Act. Seems the NC government has finally done away even with ornamentalism. They don’t even want to pretend that they have anything to do with Article 370…I remember how during the election campaign it was all about Article 370, and how all others are BJP. And now the ideological overlap. What a comedown. And if this address was a vision statement of the government, it is as visionless as it can get.”[12]

“The absence of issues like restoration of Article 370, 35-A and other core political issues in the address of the Lieutenant Governor to the members of Legislative Assembly on the opening day of J&K budget session was a big disappointment,” said Waheed-ur-Rehman Para.[13]

The same day, PDP chief and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti reiterated outside the assembly what Waheed-ur-Rehman Para said in the assembly. She, inter-alia, said: “Unfortunately, it seems that the BJP’s agenda, their policy regarding J&K, has become an extension of the ruling government that was elected with a massive majority. The things for which we used to raise our voices, which are unconstitutional, it seems that the people of the National Conference are in a race to legitimise those things that happened in recent years…The LG’s address…did not address the issues of disempowerment faced by the people of J&K. There was no mention of a resolution which NC claims they brought for restoration of Article 370…This cabinet has not even dared to bring it up. What else can we say?”[14]

Demonstration in Assembly Hall

The first day of the budget session also witnessed a demonstration. It was the Awami Ittehad Party’s (AIP) lone MLA in the J&K Legislative Assembly, Sheikh Khursheed Ahmad, who staged a demonstration in the Legislature Hall of the Assembly, interrupting the LG’s address for a brief period. He was holding placards and raising slogans against the government’s policies. During his protest, he called for the restoration of Article 370 and 35A, demanded release of “political prisoners” (in this case persons with dubious credentials), criticized the LG administration for the recent removal of several government employees from the service (for their alleged terror links), and also opposed the use of the Public Safety Act (PSA) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), claiming these laws were being misused. He created a scene which left the assembly marshals with no other option but to step in and escort him out of the House to restore order.[15]

(to be continued)

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.

Reference: –

[1] Address of the Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor to the legislative assembly of J&K: Full text, PP. 1-38 – Mar 3, 2025, Kashmir Observer

[2] Read: Full text of LG Manoj Sinha’s speech in J&K Assembly – Nov 4, 2024, Greater Kashmir

[3] Manmohan Singh carried forward Vajpayee’s legacy to resolve Kashmir issue: CM – Mar 3, 2025, Greater Kashmir,

[4] Resolution on Article 370 passed by House still stands: CM Omar – Mar 3, 2025, Greater Kashmir

[5] Omar Abdullah at Idea Exchange: What happened to us in 2019 can’t be the yardstick to approach relations between J-K and the Union govt – Feb 24, 2024, Indian Express

[6] Omar Abdullah echoes Amit Shah on Congress and EVMs – Dec 17, 2024, India Today

[7] Idea of INDIA bloc ‘not dead’, need to put up united front against BJP: Omar – Feb 28, 2025, The Tribune

[8] Normalcy in Kashmir forced, not organic: Omar Abdullah jabs Centre – Feb 28, 2025, India Today

[9] Oppn In J&K Targets Omar Abdullah Over Mirwaiz Security Remark; NC Hits Back – Feb 25, 2025, Daily Excelsior

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

[11] If statehood is not restored, party has plan B,C: NC – Mar 2, 2025, Daily Excelsior

[12] Sajad Lone targets NC over LG Sinha’s address to Assembly – Mar 3, 2025, The News Now

[13] Missing core political issues in LG’s address big disappointment: Para – Mar 3, 2025, Greater Kashmir

[14] NC Acting As Extension Of BJP In Jammu And Kashmir: Mehbooba Mufti – Mar 3, 2025, Daily Excelsior

[15] AIP MLA stages protest in Assembly, marshalled out – Mar 4, 2025, Daily Excelsior

For all the latest updates, download PGurus App.

The post Budget Session – I: PM Modi increasing Duree between Kashmiri Muslims and New Delhi, says CM Omar Abdullah appeared first on PGurus.