It is deeply unfair to the people of Jammu and Kashmir that the promise of statehood is not being kept, says Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, while going on to ask if they are being punished for not electing a BJP Chief Minister.

“If that is the case, the BJP should have stood up in Parliament or told the Supreme Court that till a BJP Chief Minister sits in Jammu and Kashmir, you will not get statehood… Then I would have believed that these people are telling the truth,” Mr. Abdullah, who was elected to power nearly 20 months ago, told PTI.

Expressing acute disappointment over the Centre’s delay in restoring statehood, the National Conference leader said it amounted to deceit and a breach of promise. “Of course, it is disappointing. We are well past the point of early. Early would have been soon after the elections. We are, as you said, 20 months into the government. It’s no longer early. It has been needlessly delayed. And the sad fact is nobody is able to explain why. You hear every time that Jammu and Kashmir statehood will be restored at the appropriate time. But nobody tells us when the appropriate time is,” he said.

Though he continues to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, there is no clear indication of what Jammu and Kashmir must do to satisfy the Centre’s “appropriate time” criteria, leaving the issue of statehood restoration in limbo, Mr. Abdullah said.

“What is the yardstick to measure appropriate time? At least if we knew what the appropriate time would be, and how to measure it, we would work towards it. So we are chipping away. We keep the demand alive. We keep talking about it. But I think it’s deeply unfair to the people of J&K that this promise is not being kept,” the Chief Minister said.

He said the Centre had repeatedly outlined a three-step roadmap for Jammu and Kashmir - delimitation, elections and statehood. The first two steps are done, and his government will complete two years in office this October, Mr. Abdullah pointed out.

The timeline, he stressed, has moved well beyond the “early” restoration promised in Parliament and to the Supreme Court.

“Is it because the BJP was not allowed to form a government here? Is that why the people of J&K are being punished?” Mr. Abdullah asked.

“They should have stood up and said that till the BJP’s Chief Minister does not sit in Jammu and Kashmir, you will not get statehood. Then the people of J&K at least know what to expect. Then they can decide whether they want a BJP Chief Minister or not. This is still deceit,” he said.

He referred to statements by the Leader of Opposition in Jammu and Kashmir Sunil Sharma’s statements to buttress his point. Sharma had recently asked why statehood should be restored to Omar Abdullah and his government.

In August 2019, the Centre abrogated Article 370, giving Jammu and Kashmir special status and bifurcating the then State into the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

The National Conference, he asserted, remains committed to its core ideology, and he refuses to lie to the public about what is achievable with the current dispensation in New Delhi.

“Talking to the current government of India about Article 370 is a waste of time; it is tantamount to befooling people,” Mr. Abdullah said. “Those who are not ready to give you statehood, will they be ready to give you Article 370?” In 2023, the Supreme Court said statehood should be restored “at the earliest”.

“That’s the problem with at the earliest. It’s so vague,” Mr. Abdullah said.

Asked whether the state government would approach the Supreme Court for clarity, he was cautious. “Let’s see. Such things are also fraught with risk. I don’t want to say too much because it then gets misinterpreted. Let’s just say that all our options are on the table.”

Addressing critics, including a few within his own party, who claim his government has abandoned the push for Article 370, Mr. Abdullah said, “Look, critics are a dime a dozen, and they are a natural part of democracy. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and everybody has an opinion about almost everything. So, I have no problem with that. The fact is that we have not abandoned our core principles.”

In a dig at the Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP and detractors within his party, Mr. Abdullah said, “Now I can understand some of these critics are masters at befooling people. It’s all they have ever done.”

“In the case of some of them, their entire political career is founded on lies. I am not going to join them. I am not going to be the one to befool people that I am going to Delhi to get Article 370 for you,” he said.