Restore statehood to J&K, demands Cong

New Delhi, October 20

The Congress on Wednesday demanded immediate restoration of statehood and a democratically elected government in J&K, while alleging that the Centre had “utterly failed” to tackle the situation there.

The party also questioned the silence of Home Minister Amit Shah after the selective killings of 32 civilians and nine soldiers in the Union Territory. “Even after the selective murder of 32 civilians and nine soldiers, the home minister is still silent. This means that neither is Government of India, under whose direct jurisdiction is Jammu and Kashmir, able to understand the situation, nor can it tackle the situation,” Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh said.

“We demand that full statehood be given to J&K immediately and there should be a government by democratic process and as per the Constitution of the country, and not by bypassing the Constitution,” he said.

“The people who have left J&K should be immediately provided with financial assistance and employment opportunities at the place of their return,” Vallabh said in the wake of exodus of migrant workers from J&K.

Noting that the Centre made several promises about the UT’s development, he asked why employment rate there was the lowest and why the tourist footfall and capital inflow had decreased since it came under the direct control of the Centre. Selective murders are taking place because the Centre is unable to govern the state, Vallabh said.

Vallabh said this was the peak season as far as economic activity in J&K was concerned and during this time, these kinds of events were happening and the Home Minister was silent. "Why can't he speak up on the reason for these killings? For the first time there are selective killings. It shows that Government of India has utterly failed to understand the ground realities in J&K," he said. — PTI