Srinagar, Aug 15: National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Friday said the signature campaign announced by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood will be run vigorously.
“The campaign will be run and it will be a vigorous campaign,” Farooq told reporters after attending the Independence Day function at Bakshi Stadium here. The NC chief was responding to a question about the signature campaign announced by the CM in response to the Supreme Court observation that the Pahalgam terror attack should be taken into consideration while deciding on restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
The Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India B R Gavai observed that the “ground situation” in the region must be weighed before restoring its statehood, stressing that “incidents like Pahalgam” cannot be ignored.
Omar Abdullah further said he will launch a massive signature campaign to press the demand for restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir during the eight weeks’ time given by the Supreme Court to the Centre to respond to the plea before it.
“From today, we will use these eight weeks to go door to door in all 90 assembly segments for a signature campaign on the restoration of statehood. If people are not ready to sign the document, I will accept defeat,” the CM said in his Independence Day speech at Bakshi Stadium here.
Asked if the chief minister’s speech was a stern message, the National Conference president agreed and said a clear message has been sent.
Farooq Abdullah, the former chief minister, said he had mixed emotions while attending the Independence Day function after several years.
“There were tears and there was happiness as well. Tears because I have also been a CM here, we had Article 370, Article 35A and we were a state,” he added.
In response to a question on the Kishtwar cloudburst, the NC president said over 500 people are still feared to be trapped under the debris.
“More than 500 people are trapped under the debris in Kishtwar. Our DDC chairman there told me that the number might be around 1,000 people trapped under the debris. We do not know for sure. So it is a moment of sadness,” he added. (PTI)
