Release of political prisoners not possible under UT status: Omar

'Congress is not part of our govt; resolution passed, not rejected'

SRINAGAR: Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah today said release of political prisoners from the jail cannot be achieved under Union Territory status.
Addressing the media after a function in Srinagar, Omar said, “We need statehood to move forward with the issue of releasing prisoners because, at present, security, policing, and law and order fall under the purview of the central government.
The Lieutenant Governor oversees these matters. Despite this, wherever we have communicated with the police administration, we have emphasized that these issues must be revisited—particularly regarding verification processes. As I mentioned in my Assembly speech, the way verification processes were weaponized caused significant harassment to people. To a large extent, this has been curtailed, and there will be further leniency in the future, Omar told media.
As for releasing individuals from jail, we have been advocating for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood from day one because we know there are certain things that people want, and these cannot be achieved under Union Territory status, he said.
Adding that Omar said “The resolution was passed by the majority of members in the Legislative Assembly. Congress members were also present in the House. It is alive and has not been rejected. The door is open. Let us get the statehood, we will pursue the matter further.”
"Congress is not part of our government. Congress has supported us from the outside, but they are not part of the government. Now, this resolution was brought by the government, and all members, except for the BJP, passed it at that time. Congress was also part of those who supported it.
It is evident that the way the BJP targeted Congress in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, this is a response to those who said that there is nothing in this resolution. If there were nothing in it, why would the Prime Minister and Home Minister repeatedly mention this resolution? Clearly, it holds significance.
Now, Congress found itself in a position where it tried to dilute it somewhat, but its attempts did not diminish its importance. The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly has passed this resolution with an overwhelming majority, which speaks volumes."
Omar said of the cabinet meeting, "We have our agenda, and discussions took place about routine government work. However, I think the most important decision in today’s cabinet meeting was regarding the establishment of a subcommittee to address matters related to reservations.”
Many discussions, concerns, and complaints are being expressed about reservations. Our youth, especially from the open category, feel they are not getting their due rights. At the same time, he said those included in the reservation category do not want any reduction in their entitlements.
Therefore, the cabinet has decided to establish a subcommittee. This subcommittee will consist of three honorable ministers. The cabinet has directed them to take a holistic view of the reservation issue, review what has been done so far, and consider the recent directions of the Supreme Court. They will determine whether we have acted upon them adequately and what further steps need to be taken so that no one’s rights are taken away, but justice is ensured for everyone, he said.
This cabinet subcommittee has been given a timeline to present its report before the cabinet, after which we will be able to take a decision on this matter.
On winter preparedness, Omar said, "The cabinet has already undertaken preparations for winter. To reduce power cuts, I personally met with the Power Minister in Delhi, and he sanctioned some additional quotas for Jammu and Kashmir. However, we must be prepared for the fact that there will still be power cuts during the winter".
“I have emphasized that in areas where electricity theft is minimal and where payment of electricity bills is satisfactory, there should be fewer outages, and load shedding should be minimized. It is expected that this year, people will see some improvement during the winter, he said.
It was quite an unfortunate incident in Kishtwar; what’s even more disappointing is that our people haven’t learned anything. This isn’t the first incident where locals have been called to a police camp and subjected to beating or mistreatment. Thankfully, in this case, lives were not lost, but we have seen incidents in the past where people were tortured in police camps and ended up losing their precious lives, Omar said.
I hope that the Army will not show any leniency in this matter. He said there should be a transparent investigation, and if evidence is found against those responsible, they should be immediately court-martialed and punished.