Reducing Jammu Kashmir To UT 'Constitutional Misdemeanour', Statehood Must Be Restored: Sibal

Kapil Sibal criticised the reduction of Jammu and Kashmir to a Union Territory, calling for the restoration of its statehood following Abdullah's swearing-in.

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Thursday said it was a "constitutional misdemeanour" to have reduced Jammu and Kashmir to a Union Territory and asserted that it was time to restore its statehood.

His remarks come a day after National Conference leader Omar Abdullah took oath as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, heading the first elected government in the union territory since 2019 when its special status was revoked.

As Jammu and Kashmir turned another page in its troubled history, the 54-year-old Abdullah was sworn in along with five other ministers, three from the Jammu region and two from the Kashmir Valley.

In a post on X, Sibal said, "It was a constitutional misdemeanour to have reduced the state of J&K to a Union Territory. It was wrong for the Supreme Court not to have decided that issue."

"Time to restore statehood. This is the constitutional right of the people of J&K," the former Union minister asserted.

Lt Governor Manoj Sinha administered the oath of office and secrecy to Abdullah and his ministers at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre along the banks of the Dal Lake.