WAJAHAT SHABIR
SRINAGAR: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Tuesday said the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly session had been “very fruitful” for the government, claiming the BJP did not participate when it had an opportunity to hold the government accountable during the discussion on the Statehood resolution.
Speaking to reporters after attending a Buyer-Seller Meet organised by the Industries Department and the Trade Promotion Organisation, Omar said the initiative aimed to connect manufacturers, weavers and handicraft artisans directly with buyers from outside Jammu and Kashmir.
“The Industries Department and our Trade Promotion Organization, it is an effort on their part to connect our manufacturers, weavers, and those associated with handicrafts directly with buyers. It is not feasible for us to send 100 people outside from here. However, when we bring 30 to 35 buyers from outside and introduce them to 100 artisans here, we hope buyers will find items of their choice and place orders,” he said.
Responding to a question on the sixth day of the Assembly session, Omar said the treasury benches had not expected the proceedings to be as productive as they turned out to be.
“For us, it has been very fruitful. I cannot speak for the opposition; I will speak for the treasury benches. We honestly did not expect it to be this fruitful,” he said.
He said the opposition had warned before the session that it would corner the government but was absent when the opportunity arose.
“The BJP had a good opportunity on the Statehood bill to hold us accountable based on the record of the last two years. They did not participate, and our Statehood resolution was passed,” he said.
Omar said the bills relating to ease of doing business and decriminalisation were also passed during the session, while the report on the Jal Shakti Department would be discussed on the final day before the House concluded its proceedings.
On the pensioners’ bill, the Chief Minister clarified that it had been passed, while the bill relating to legislators’ salaries had not.
“No, the pensioners’ bill was passed; it was our salary bill that wasn’t. That’s fine if it wasn’t. In any case, I had no personal enthusiasm for a salary hike,” he said. He alleged that members of the BJP had themselves signed a letter seeking a salary hike. “They want the salary, and alongside that, they want to play politics as well. I will not permit them to do that,” he said.
Asked about National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah’s remarks that Kashmir and India were changing, Omar said change could be for better or worse.
“As far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned, yes, Jammu and Kashmir has changed. Now, we are trying to fix that change. Gradually, as they say, drop by drop the ocean fills up; we are also trying to refill Dal Lake drop by drop,” he said.
He cited the Assembly proceedings, the Buyer-Seller Meet and the government’s decision to shift employees from the New Pension Scheme to the Old Pension Scheme as examples of the changes being pursued.
“The major step we took for our employees was transferring them from the New Pension Scheme to the Old Pension Scheme. This was a long-standing demand of theirs. It will benefit thousands of government employees,” he said.
On demands for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Omar said the Election Commission needed “soul-searching.”
“It is not without reason that all opposition parties are against the Election Commission today. The evidence came to light through a newspaper investigation. Instead of attempting to cover it up, the Election Commission should reform its functioning and ensure that such allegations and actions do not recur,” he said.
Responding to BJP leaders’ remarks that Gyanesh Kumar deserved the Padma Bhushan, Omar remarked, “Why stop there? Give him the Bharat Ratna.”
When asked about the 2029 Assembly elections, Omar laughed off the question after initially being asked about “2027.” “Why are you cutting two years off our term? You’ll give us a heart attack,” he said, adding that 2029 was “a long way off.”
On India-China relations, Omar said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was not wrong in saying ties had improved compared with the period after the Galwan clash.
“At the very least, we are not only meeting each other but also engaging in proper dialogue. We have always maintained that the better our relations are with our neighbours and other nations, the better it is for us,” he said. He added that improving relations with neighbouring countries, including China, would benefit the country.
‘Reward CEC with Bharat Ratna for delivering WB to BJP’
Srinagar : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday took a swipe at the BJP for suggesting a Padma award for CEC Gyanesh Kumar, saying he should be rewarded with a Bharat Ratna for delivering West Bengal to the party.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Tuesday (September 29, 2026) passed a resolution urging the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, immediate suspension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the restoration of the over 13 crore voters deleted from the rolls following the SIR and the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “vote theft”.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) is contemplating releasing audio recordings of its meetings with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar amid the ongoing row over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, party sources said on Tuesday (September 29, 2026). They said the recordings are expected to be released next week to highlight the manner in which Mr. Kumar interacted with political parties during meetings with the poll panel.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday (September 29) called for the immediate removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, and demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s resignation on moral grounds for “pressuring” the poll panel chief.
Meanwhile, protests were held across various States, demanding Mr. Kumar’s resignation, amid a row within the Election Commission of India (ECI), which is headed by Mr. Kumar and includes Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi as Commissioners.
