Srinagar, February 17 Union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Meghwal said on Tuesday that the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir would be restored soon, prompting a quick response from Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who said that he hoped the wait would not be too long.
After attending a function at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) here, Meghwal told reporters that while it was a "very sensitive issue," Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said in the Lok Sabha that the statehood of J-K would be restored.
"You will get it, but there is a process for it. I feel you will soon hear about a decision in this regard," he said.
Reacting to Meghwal's comment, Abdullah, who was also present at the function, said, "I heard on the sidelines that the (Union) minister said that we will be hearing good news soon."
"It has been one and a half years of waiting. We hope we do not have to wait much longer," Abdullah told reporters.
The chief minister said that no one in Jammu and Kashmir will be satisfied until it is done.
"The process is on, (though) it is taking longer. We were expecting to get it by now, but we have not got it yet. We have not given up hope, we are continuously talking to the Centre about it," he added.
Home Minister Shah, while speaking in Lok Sabha on February 13, 2021, said that Jammu and Kashmir's Union territory status was temporary and its statehood would be restored.
On August 5, 2019, the Centre abrogated Article 370, which accorded a special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. The government also divided Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories - Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.