JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Omar Abdullah said on Thursday that the tradition of ‘Darbar’ procession would be restored soon, announcing the move on the occasion of his government’s one-year anniversary at the National Conference (NC) and stressed that it was fulfilling his promise to the people of Jammu.The tradition is to change the seat of government of J&K, with Jammu being the winter capital (November to April) and Srinagar being the summer capital (May to October). The custom dates back to 1872 when Maharaja Gulab Singh, founder and ruler of the erstwhile J&K princely state and ancestor of Maharaja Hari Singh, started it.“The Cabinet has taken a decision regarding its restoration (Darbar move) and forwarded it to the Lieutenant Governor (Manoj Sinha). The LG has signed and returned the file,” Omar said in Jammu. LG Sinha had stopped the practice on June 30, 2021 – almost two years after the repeal of Article 370.Minister Satish Sharma welcomed Omar’s announcement and said reviving the historic Darbar procession will not only boost Jammu’s economy but also help restore “the culture, heritage and glory” of J&K.The NC Allies Congress welcomed the decision. It noted that the revival was a “joint promise” by the two parties ahead of last year’s general election.Apni Party chief Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari joined the chorus. “The resumption of the biennial Darbar Move practice is truly a commendable decision. It continues to have great social, cultural and economic significance. I congratulate the government,” Bukhari wrote.Earlier, Omar used the first anniversary of his government to renew his call for restoration of statehood to J&K, saying it would be the solution to all the region’s problems. “I would like to urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi to fulfill the promise made in Parliament and the Supreme Court. We (NC) have even moved a resolution in this regard.”The CM stressed that his government will fulfill all promises made before the election. “When we asked voters for votes, it was for the entire five-year term. People started asking questions, but I want to tell them: Please ask the questions after five years,” Omar said amid criticism from rivals BJP and PDP.Former CM and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti alleged that after the abrogation of Article 370, J&K witnessed “an atmosphere of oppression” under the authority of the Lieutenant Governor, with continuous arrests and frequent raids by various agencies. “Omar’s government has normalized it. He has shown no resistance and has not spoken about the fact that thousands of Kashmiris are languishing in various prisons outside J&K.”While Omar spoke about Article 370 before the elections, “he didn’t even mention it after the elections,” Mehbooba claimed. She accused the CM of “simply following the BJP’s narrative that no one should talk about Article 370 or the Kashmir issue”.Mehbooba urged Omar to “follow the example” of Arvind Kejriwal when he was chief minister of Delhi in carrying out development works – a Union Territory like J&K is now in the wake of the abrogation of Article 370.The BJP described the first year of the Omar-led government as a “failure on all fronts”. Party spokesman Altaf Thakur claimed that the North Carolina government had failed to fulfill its promise of free electricity, 10kg of rice and 100,000 jobs.(Contributed by Naseer Ganai in Srinagar)
