Next J&K Chief Minister should seek a healthy, working relationship with Centre, Raj Bhawan: Omar Abdullah Premium

J&K Assembly elections: National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah says the next Chief Minister must work towards a healthy and working relationship with Centre and the Raj Bhawan. 

With a massive electoral victory on his side, National Conference vice-president and probable Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday (October 8, 2024) said that the next Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister must work towards a healthy and working relationship with Centre and the Raj Bhawan.

“I would advise the incoming Chief Minister that we will need to have a healthy working relationship with the Centre and the Raj Bhawan. Once the government is in place, I would expect the Chief Minister to travel to Delhi soon and meet the Prime Minister and the Home minister and other important ministers,” Mr. Omar Abdullah told in an exclusive interview to The Hindu.

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He said J&K will not benefit from an antagonistic and confrontational approach. “J&K has far too many problems to just play politics for the next five years. The incoming government must have a healthy relationship with the Government of India. I hope the Union government has the same sentiment and recognises the fact that J&K is at a crucial stage currently. We will not be playing politics with this relationship,” Mr. Omar Abdullah said, as the NC-Congress combine is set to form the next government in J&K.

On the relationship with J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Mr. Omar Abdullah said, “There is a need for some relationship-building with the Raj Bhawan in J&K. At present, there is no relation between the two of us. We don’t know each other. Some repair needs to be done. J&K will not benefit with the L-G having an antagonistic approach toward elected government,” the former J&K Chief Minister said.

Mr. Omar Abdullah said his advice to the next CM would be “to convey the sentiment of the new government to New Delhi that elections are behind us and there are no reasons why we have to go at each other hammer and tongs”. 

Mr. Omar Abdullah said he looked forward to the Centre’s hand-holding in restoring the Statehood of J&K. “I expect the Prime Minister to be an honourable man and live up to the promise of restoring Statehood. Nowhere he said on the floor of the Parliament that first there should be a BJP-government in J&K and then only Statehood would be restored. Now that people of J&K have spoken, it’s time for him to be magnanimous,” he added.