**Srinagar:** Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday expressed regret over the arrest of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, accusing the BJP-led NDA government of reneging on its promises.
“This (Wangchuk’s arrest) is unfortunate. The way the Central government was after him since yesterday, it seemed they would do something like this,” Abdullah told reporters on the sidelines of the inaugural ceremony of the third Junior Asian Pencak Silat Championship here.
“Promises were made with the people there… I don’t understand what compulsions the Central government has to backtrack after making promises,” he added.
Sonam Wangchuk was arrested on Friday, two days after violent protests in Ladakh left four people dead and 90 others injured. The specific charges against him were not immediately clear.
The Home Ministry blamed Wangchuk, a senior member of the Leh Apex Body (LAB), for provocation leading to the violence. LAB, along with the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), has been spearheading the agitation demanding statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution for over five years.
Abdullah referenced the period before the Hill Council elections in Leh in 2020, noting that a Union minister went there when locals had decided to boycott the elections. “Promises were made to make people contest and participate in the elections. Not only did the people then participate in the elections in huge numbers, but they also helped the BJP win. However, the promises were not kept, same as with us,” he said.
Regarding the promise to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood after the assembly elections, Abdullah said the people participated actively and a government was formed based on those assurances. He questioned whether the denial of statehood is linked to the BJP not forming the government in J&K.
“If that is the case, then they should tell the court that till BJP doesn’t form the government in J&K, statehood will not be restored,” he stated.
Addressing Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the J&K assembly, Sunil Sharma’s allegations that Abdullah was justifying violence in Ladakh, the Chief Minister responded that the BJP MLA always pins the blame on others.
*Note: Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.*
https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/unfortunate-jk-cm-omar-abdullah-slams-centre-over-climate-activist-sonam-wangchuks-arrest-video