J&K CM Omar Abdullah holds meeting with NC MLAs

Srinagar: J&K CM Omar Abdullah on Wednesday held a meeting of his party MLAs at the national park in Dachigam on the outskirts of Srinagar, where a consensus was reached to hold a protest in New Delhi on the first day of the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament to demand immediate restoration of statehood.

National Conference MLAs spoke vehemently against their ministers, who they alleged were not listening to their concerns or addressing the problems in their constituencies.

Abdullah along with MLAs moved from his official residence on Gupkar Road in Srinagar, where the meeting had been originally scheduled, in multi-seater buses to Dachigam National Park - triggering a flurry of memes on social media from the Opposition as well as netizens, who called the chief minister a "tourist" and his MLAs "endangered species" like the Hangul whose habitat is Dachigam National Park. The meeting started around 11 am and ended around 6.30 pm.


"Consensus was reached that we will go to New Delhi on the first day of the monsoon session of Parliament to press for restoration of statehood. We will also meet the leadership in New Delhi to expedite the process and not hollow out their own promises," a senior NC leader told ET.

Abdullah's government will complete 20 months on June 16. Most of the NC members attended the meeting except the party's Srinagar MP, Aga Ruhullah, who had not been invited by the chief minister.