Omar Abdullah calls Article 370 abrogation 'biggest policy mistake', seeks statehood timeline

Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, speaking at The Hindu Huddle in Hyderabad on Friday (June 5, 2026), described the abrogation of Article 370 as the "biggest policy mistake" made by the Indian government and pressed for a clear timeline to restore statehood to the Union Territory.

In a candid conversation with The Hindu's Opinion Editor Dr. Narayan Lakshman, Mr. Abdullah addressed a range of issues, including the perceived link between development and the 2019 constitutional change, the practical challenges of 'One Nation, One Election', and the geostrategic importance of the region.

Article 370, which granted special autonomy to Jammu & Kashmir, was revoked by the central government in August 2019, a move defended by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as essential for integrating the region and accelerating development. Mr. Abdullah contested this narrative. "The clauses in Article 370 were never a cause of lack of development in Jammu & Kashmir. It has suffered due to 30-35 years of violence. The fact that J&K was perceived as an unsafe place, is what we paid the price of," he said.

He pointed out that several other states in India have region-specific restrictions, such as those on land purchase by outsiders, arguing that the BJP's criticism of a "two systems" approach was politically motivated. "The BJP had said that we can't have two different systems in the same country. That was the stick used to beat us. But there are other places where you can't buy land, or face other restrictions. It is a part of politics of the BJP. And we are suffering because of it," Mr. Abdullah said.

Central to his address was the demand for the restoration of statehood, a commitment he alleged was made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. "It was a commitment that delimitation will be followed by election, and that statehood will follow. But it is nowhere to be seen. We don't know when the appropriate time will be. How are we supposed to gauge the appropriate time," he asked, urging the Union government to specify the parameters and timeframe for such a decision.

On the concept of simultaneous elections, Mr. Abdullah expressed scepticism about its feasibility in a diverse federal polity. "Unless you decide that you will not have a vote of no-confidence, unless you can prove you have a majority behind you. If you don't have that, it is very difficult to make it work. Realistically, how do you implement it for a country as diverse as ours with State governments that are so different in conditions where there is no fixed term," he said.

In a lighter vein, the Chief Minister lamented the lack of tourists and filmmakers from South India visiting Kashmir and invited the southern film industries to shoot in the valley. "Tourism often follows movies. Look at what happened to Switzerland, thanks in part to Yash Chopra's films. We would love to see more South Indian films shot in Kashmir. These days, your films seem to be doing better than Bollywood's, and you have bigger budgets. So, I hope more films from the south are shot in Kashmir in the future," he said.