Key takeaway of PM Modi’s meeting regarding J&K

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with top political leaders of Jammu and Kashmir at his Delhi residence today, in the first such meeting after the region’s special status was scrapped in 2019.

Important points :

– Fourteen mainstream Jammu and Kashmir leaders from eight political parties, including four Chief Ministers, attended the meeting aimed at setting on course the political process in the region, which has been under President’s Rule since 2018 when the BJP withdrew support from then Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s government. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval were also present.

– Former Chief Ministers Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah of the National Conference met PM Modi last on August 1, 2019. They were stunned when three days later on August 4, they were detained and hours later, the abrogation of Article 370 was announced in parliament.

– Today’s meeting was called without a specific agenda though reports suggested the discussions could include delimitation or redrawing of constituencies as the first step towards assembly polls after Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into two Union Territories.

– The Gupkar Alliance, a group of seven parties led by Ms Mufti and Farooq Abdullah, had said they would press for restoration of full statehood and special status at the meet. The Congress also echoed the demand.

– I am going to the meeting. I will keep the demands there and then I will talk to you,” Farooq Abdullah told reporters before the meeting. “We have not been given an agenda. We will be attending the meeting to know what the Centre is offering,” CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, who is also a spokesman of the Gupkar alliance, had said earlier

– The government says while restoration of statehood will be considered “at an appropriate time”, that time has not come yet.

– This is the Centre’s first major outreach since August 2019 towards political leaders who have been severely critical of the Article 370 decision. Many of the leaders attending the meeting had been detained as part of security measures to prevent any protests over the sweeping changes. These include Ms Mufti, Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah.

– Home ministry officials advised the government that with fewer terror incidents in the aftermath of Covid, the timing is right to begin the political process.

– There was talk of assembly elections alongside the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, but the Election Commission flagged concerns about security expressed by the Jammu and Kashmir administration.

– In December, local body elections were held in Jammu and Kashmir, in which Gupkar Alliance won more than 100 seats and the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 74 seats.