Omar AbdullahCalling him a “shehzaada” (prince) and saying Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood cannot be restored just because of his demand, it drew a stern response from the chief minister, who said on Friday that denying statehood would be a betrayal of the promise to the people of J&K.Opposition leader in J&K Assembly Sharma on Thursday slammed Omar for repeatedly raising the issue of statehood. Talking to media persons, he said, “It is not possible to get statehood soon as one of the ‘Sheikh Zada’ of Sheikh Abdullah’s family has become the chief minister.” He added that statehood would take “its own time” and asked the minister to focus on fulfilling his promises such as free electricity, LPG cylinders and employment opportunities.Omar reacted sharply in a post onHe also took a dig at Sharma, who campaigned in Assam recently, saying the J&K Assembly was “quiet and productive” in the absence of the LOP.North Carolina Minister Javed Rana said the long-promised restoration of statehood is not only a constitutional obligation but also key to restoring effective governance and accelerating development in J&K.NC spokesperson and legislator Tanveer Sadiq criticized Sharma’s statement, saying “BJP politics in J&K has reached a new low”. “Virtations against elected chief ministers only expose the frustrations within them. Sunil Sharma’s comments are not just trivial, they reflect deeper insecurities,” he said. “J&K deserves to be taken seriously as politics and not ridiculed in campuses. If anything, comments like this will only reinforce the growing perception that the local leadership of the BJP is struggling to retain influence,” Sadiq said.
