Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held anexclusive meeting with the eminent political leaders of all parties in Jammu& Kashmir to discuss the road ahead after almost two years of silence sincethe state has lost its special status after the abrogation of Article 370.
In the meeting, PM Modi has assured all-party leadersthat the Centre govt is planning to conduct assembly elections in J&K alongwith state’s restoration once the delimitation exercise is over.
14 leaders from Jammu & Kashmir had taken part in themeeting convened by PM Modi at his residence in New Delhi on June 24. Notably, Union HomeMinister Amit Shah and Kashmir Manoj Sinha were also present in the all-partymeeting.
Here are the key points:
1. Delimitationexercise: Delimitation is a prerequisite for the conduct of Assembly polls --something which the authorities and the political class are looking forward toas they seek to kick the political process into a higher gear, an objectivewhich, along with speeding up of development required in the union territories.In the meeting, the Prime Minister said the government is keen to exercise thisstep so polls can be conducted at the earliest.
2. AssemblyElections: The all-party leaders have put their demand in front of PM Modi tohold the assembly elections in J&K at the earliest to restore ademocratically elected government. It is to be noted here that J&K hasnot democratically elected the government since June 2018 when the MehboobaMufti’s government shattered after the BJP had chosen to withdraw its supportto her government.
3. Statehood for J&K: The 14 leaders fromJ&K gathered for the meeting had also demanded to promptly restore thestatehood for Jammu and Kashmir. Congress leader and former Chief MinisterGhulam Nabi Azad said PM Modi and Amit Shah had promised in Parliament thatJ&K's statehood would be restored once the situation normalizes. However,National Conference chief and former CMFarooq Abdullah reportedly demanded that J&K's statehood should berestored before holding the assembly elections.
4. Article370 & 35 A: Some leaders also raised the issues of restoring Article 370and 35A that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir before August 5, 2019.However, sources said the matter was not discussed since it is pending beforethe Supreme Court.