Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Friday that the hopes of restoring the state status of region on Independence Day are strong, but the struggle will continue despite the less optimism. On restoring the status of the state, he said, “My well-wishers told me that some big announcement will be made for Jammu and Kashmir on Independence Day. The ray of hope is blurring, but we will not give up.”He further said, “We were told that Jammu and Kashmir will be brought equal to other parts of the country. Today I want to ask if we are able to do so?”
Omar Abdullah became the first elected Chief Minister to preside over the flag hoisting and Independence Day celebrations at Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar after eight years in Jammu and Kashmir. People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti last presumed the Independence Day celebrations here for the last time in 2017. In June 2018, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) withdrew support from the PDP -led coalition government, after which the Governor’s rule in the then state came into force.
After the cancellation of Article 370 in August 2019, there was no elected government there until Jammu and Kashmir were reorganized as two union territories. Article 370 used to give special status to Jammu and Kashmir under the Indian Constitution. The Governor hoisted the flag on Independence Day and Republic Day in 2018 and 2019 after reorganizing the state by reorganizing the state, while the Lieutenant Governor played this responsibility from 2020 to 2024.
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Assembly elections were held at the end of last year, after which Omar Abdullah became the first elected Chief Minister of Union Territory Jammu and Kashmir. Abdullah hoisted the national flag at Bakshi Stadium and was given a salute guard. He then inspected the troops participating in the parade. He took the salute of the march past of Jammu and Kashmir Police, Central Armed Paramilitary Forces and school children.
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The Chief Minister’s cabinet colleagues presided over the Independence Day celebrations in Jammu and other major district headquarters of the Union Territory. The Chief Minister canceled the cultural program, considered to be the main attraction of the ceremony in honor of the people who lost their lives in the sudden floods in Kishtwar on Thursday.