The 63-member cabinet of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, in its maiden meeting on Thursday, adopted a resolution calling upon the NDA-led Centre to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
The National Conference had prepared the resolution after winning the just concluded assembly polls with 42 seats.
Abdullah may be seen travelling to New Delhi to present the draft of the resolution before Modi.
The first cabinet meeting of Chief Minister Abdullah's government was attended by Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary and ministers Sakeena Masood Itoo, Javed Ahmad Rana, Javaid Ahmad Dar, and Satish Sharma.
"We had raised the issue of statehood restoration even earlier. The Supreme Court, today said it will be listed soon. I am hopeful that the Government of India will soon restore the statehood," Abdullah had said on Thursday.
National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday expressed hope that the Centre would restore the statehood even while pointing out that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear an application regarding the matter within two months. He said the Government of India would soon restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
On the matter of the abrogation of Article 370, Abdullah said that the NC would have to go back to court and present its case on the issue. "It will take time as we have to go back to the courts and present our case", but reaffirmed NC's commitment to address the problems of the people and work towards the goals set out in their manifesto.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has agreed to take up a petition seeking time-bound restoration of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir.
A bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra was urged by senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan to expedite the hearing of a plea which seeks the restoration of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir.
Sankaranarayanan highlighted that an MA for conferring statehood was filed, referencing a previous judgement that indicated that such restoration should be time-bound. Chief Justice Chandrachud acknowledged the request, stating, "I will deal with it."
An application seeking a stay on its judgments was also moved by an academician, Zahoor Ahmad Bhat and socio-political activist, Khurshaid Ahmad Malik. This plea adds yet another thread to the legal discourses within the region concerning its political status after the withdrawal of Article 370 in 2019.
On August 5, the abrogation of Article 370 was upheld by the court and further ordered that assembly elections must be held by September 2024, but hinted at statehood to be restored at the earliest.
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