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Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Thursday described Jammu and Kashmir's change of status to Union territory from the state as a "constitutional misdemeanour" and stated that it is time to restore its statehood.
The former state of Jammu and Kashmir has been reorganised into two Union Territories in 2019. In a post on X, Sibal wrote, "It was a constitutional misdemeanour to have reduced the state of J-K to a Union Territory. It was wrong for the Supreme Court not to have decided that issue. Time to restore statehood. This is the constitutional right of the people of J-K." His remarks came a day after National Conference Leader (NC) Omar Abdullah took oath as the Chief Minister, heading the first elected government in the union territory since 2019 when its special status was revoked. Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Saxena administered the oath of office to Omar Abdullah and his council of ministers at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court (SC) earlier in the day agreed to list for hearing an application seeking direction for restoration of the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir within two months. Advocate Gopal Shankarnarayan mentioned the application for urgent listing of the matter, to which a bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said that it will list the case. On Wednesday, after attending the swearing-in ceremony of Omar Abdulah, Leader of Opposition (LOP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said that government formation without statehood felt incomplete today. (ANI)
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