Jammu, 3 November (H.S.): As government offices reopened in Jammu under the revived ‘Darbar Move’ tradition, National Conference president and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah on Monday said “those who wanted to divide Jammu and Kashmir have failed”.

Abdullah asserted that the Union Territory stands united and must collectively move towards development.

He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the reopening of the offices here.

“Those who wanted to separate Jammu and Kashmir have failed today,” he said, adding that the parts of the Union Territory are “one”.

Taking a dig at the BJP, he said that those politicising the issue should “leave politics” and instead focus on the welfare of the people and the development of the Union Territory.

Abdullah said Jammu, too, will progress and hoped it would gain “maximum benefit” from the arrival of the Secretariat.

“This (erstwhile) state has to rise again. It has come out of many destructions, including wars, and we must now rebuild it together and take it towards development,” he said.

Abdullah congratulated the Chamber of Commerce and the people for welcoming the move. “I express my gratitude to every person from Jammu who supported this step,” he said.

As Chief Minister Omar Abdullah walked along Residency Road and through Raghunath Bazar, various trader associations, including Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, accorded him a grand welcome and lauded his decision to revive the age-old tradition that was halted in 2021 by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.

Calling the transition a “big step” initiated by Maharaja Hari Singh, Farooq Abdullah said the move reflected unity among the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

“It meant that people of Jammu and Kashmir considered themselves one — irrespective of language or religion, they belonged to one land,” the former chief minister said.

On the issue of fulfilment of public demands, Abdullah said the long-pending ‘Darbar Move’ demand has been met and expressed confidence that other demands will also be fulfilled “gradually within the next four years”.

Speaking about the upcoming assembly bypolls in Jammu and Kashmir scheduled for November 11, the NC president said, “Everyone hopes that the elections will be good, and we too hope that they will be better for us. Our hopes are positive.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Krishan Kumar