Jammu & Kashmir statehood at appropriate time, says Modi government

THE Narendra Modi government on Wednesday (28) told the Indian parliament that Jammu and Kashmir would be granted statehood at an “appropriate” time after normalcy is restored there.

In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, the parliament’s upper house, minister of state for home affairs Nityanand Rai said, “Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir would be granted at an appropriate time after normalcy is restored in Jammu and Kashmir. In view of the constitutional changes and bifurcation of the erstwhile state of the Jammu and Kashmir into Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union territory of Ladakh, in national interest and also in the interest of security of J&K, temporary restrictions on various communication channels like internet and mobile services were resorted to in Jammu and Kashmir.”

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He said the matter “was reviewed from time to time and restrictions imposed were gradually eased out in a phased manner and 4G internet data services were restored in the entire Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir from February 5.

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He said this after the government was asked whether it had any proposal to “reinstate” the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir and whether some efforts have been made to end the year-long ban on different means of communication there.

The Modi government in 2019 revoked the special status of the erstwhile state that was provided to it under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution and bifurcated it into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

A month ago, Modi invited leaders from various political parties in Jammu and Kashmir for talks over its future. Recently, National Conference leader and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah claimed there were no follow-up results after the meeting with the leadership in New Delhi.