Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir will be granted at an appropriate time, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said on Wednesday.
The statement came in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on whether there is a timeline to grant statehood to the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, ANI reported.
The minister also said the decision to schedule elections is the prerogative of the Election Commission of India.
This too came in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on whether there is a timeline to hold the state elections in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, ANI reported.
National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah had earlier slammed the Modi government for deviating from its promise and assurance that there will be no extension to the Jammu and Kashmir Delimitation Commission beyond March 6.
Abdullah had also urged the government to first grant Jammu and Kashmir with statehood and then conduct the elections.
The National Conference, during its day-long convention in Jammu, had earlier this month passed several resolutions, including a demand for the restoration of full statehood of Jammu and Kashmir along with the provisions of Articles 370 and 35-A of the constitution.
Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad had also slammed the government last month and said that removing the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir was like demoting a chief minister to the post of an MLA.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha had earlier last month said Jammu and Kashmir's statehood will be restored after delimitation and election process concludes.
Earlier on August 5, 2019, the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 was abrogated by the Parliament and the former state was bifurcated into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
With Agency Inputs
