Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday slammed Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and legislators for staying away from an event commemorating the 'Foundation Day' of the Union Territory.
Addressing a gathering at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) on the banks of Dal Lake, he reaffirmed the promise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for restoration of statehood at an appropriate time.
“Politicians who took oaths on the Indian Constitution have shown duplicity in their standards by staying away from the UT foundation day. The reality is that Jammu and Kashmir is a union territory right now. Once statehood is restored, which we too want, we will celebrate that as well,” he said, drawing applause from the audience comprising officers of the Union Territory.
This is the first direct formal response from LG Sinha since Omar Abdullah's government assumed the charge on October 16.
Barring the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politicians, including Rajya Sabha MP Gulam Ali, legislators and political parties stayed away from the event. Both the National Conference (NC) and Congress legislators had decided to boycott the UT Foundation Day event.
October 31 is being observed as 'UT Foundation Day' by the LG administration. Besides the bureaucrats, the invitations have been sent to the new legislators of the NC and Congress.
However, the NC and Congress legislators skipped the event, terming it a “black day” for downgrading the erstwhile state to union territory.
"Are we here to celebrate the downgrading of a state when the people voted us for restoration of statehood?" a Congress legislator had told ETV Bharat.
The grand old party observed the day as “black day” last year too and protested in Kashmir and Jammu cities. The protests were led by then Congress J&K president Viqar Rasool Wani in Srinagar and working president Raman Bhalla in Jammu.
On Wednesday, the NC Spokesperson, Imran Nabi, said that the NC legislators may have been invited, but none from the party will attend the function.
“How would we go when we are against the decision of downgrading Jammu and Kashmir into a union territory and have opposed it from day one? The NC-led government also passed a resolution for restoration of full statehood in its first cabinet sitting,” he added.
During today's event, Sinha highlighted that peace is vital for the development and progress of the Jammu and Kashmir Union territory and asked those trying to make provocative statements to refrain.
Citing the delay in Panchayat elections to the reservation of backward classes, Sinha said the polls would be conducted shortly.
He listed the dip in NPAs of J&K Bank Limited among the achievements of the last five years, saying the bank has not only earned a name among the top banks of the country, but NPA losses have come down to 5 per cent from the previous 11 per cent.
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