NEW DELHI – Manish Tewari, a member of the Congress Lok Sabha, has spoken out about the political dispute about how Jammu and Kashmir should be run. He agrees with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s recent sharp criticism of the Union Territory’s dual administration. Tewari posted on X (previously Twitter) to show his support, saying, “I can empathize with Omar Abdullah.” This system of diarchy is built to fail, not succeed, since I am an MP from a Union Territory that only has a Municipal Corporation and not even a legislative assembly, like Jammu & Kashmir, Puducherry, or even the NCT of Delhi. It is an absolutely impossible way to do things.”
Tewari said this following Abdullah’s first speech as Chief Minister on Independence Day after he came back. Abdullah gave a direct and incisive speech at Bakshi Stadium regarding the lack of restoration of statehood. He called the dual governance system, which divides authority between the elected government and the Raj Bhavan, “not for success” but “for failure.” He said for the first time in public that his government’s choices have been put on hold.
A Fading Hope for Statehood
Abdullah said he will start a signature campaign to push for Jammu and Kashmir to become a state again and asked why it was taking so long. He said he was disappointed because a “ray of light has started to fade” even though well-wishers had promised him that a big change was coming. He notably talked on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech on Independence Day, saying, “We couldn’t wait for his speech… Someone even told me that the papers were being put together… We waited. It didn’t happen.
Even though he was upset, Abdullah made it clear that he is not “helpless” and will not accept things as they are. He also talked about a recent statement by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai on the Pahalgam incident during a discussion about statehood. He called it “unfortunate” and questioned the idea of letting violence decide the region’s political future. He remarked, “Will the people who killed people in Pahalgam and their bosses in the neighboring country decide if we will be a state?” They will try something to stop us from becoming a state every time we get close. Is this right? “Why are we being punished for something we didn’t do?”