‘Those giving advice should first follow it’: Omar Abdullah hits back at J&K LG Manoj Sinha

A fresh political spat erupted in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday after Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said that the absence of statehood cannot be used as an “excuse for underperformance”.

Sinha was speaking at a function at SKICC in Srinagar. “Things will happen only after statehood is granted is an excuse,” he said.

“All powers are with the elected government. I want to emphasise that [they] should stop fooling people and use their powers for the benefit of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.” 

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah reacted sharply to the LG’s remarks, hinting that it was easy to give advice.

Without naming Sinha, Omar, after inaugurating a bridge in Srinagar, said, “Today, a responsible person advised me not to fool people in the name of Union Territory and statehood, but to do my own work,” adding, “Those giving advice should first follow it themselves.” 

Omar targets Sinha for Pahalgam security lapse

He then listed the challenges faced by his government and targeted Sinha for the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people, mostly tourists, dead on April 22.

“Unemployment was rising. GST earnings had fallen, and tourism and handicrafts were suffering in the wake of the April attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 tourists,” he said. 

“Who is responsible for security here?” he asked, pointing out that security was the domain of the LG.

Recalling his previous tenure as Chief Minister when Jammu and Kashmir was a state, Omar said, “Not a single tourist was attacked when Nasir (Aslam Wani) was my MoS Home and Mubarak Gul my Advisor. If it were in my hands, we would have never let this happen.”

He also questioned the lack of clarity by the Centre about the restoration of statehood at an “appropriate time”. “Tell us what the right time is?” he asked. 

As Chief Minister, he should know when Jammu and Kashmir will finally get its statehood back, Omar said, and proceeded to take a dig at the LG for targeting employees and businesses. 

Of late, Omar has been pushing for the restoration of statehood due to the constraint of working in a Union Territory where the LG holds complete sway on key levers of power.

In a recent interview, Omar warned that he could resign if statehood were not restored. While talking to reporters during the recent autumn session, Omar said that his hope about the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir has lessened a bit, but not ended.

“I was hopeful from the very first day,” he said in Jammu. “My hopefulness has lessened a bit, but it’s still there.”

He said, “Naturally, the longer this goes on, the more that hope will fade. It’s human nature,” adding, “The more you make us wait, the less hopeful we will become.” It’s only been a year so far, and there’s still some hope left. “If something happens during this period of hopefulness, it will be good,” he stated.

Observers opine that after completing a year in office without much power, the Chief Minister is likely to push harder for the restoration of statehood.

India