National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah on Monday (September 22, 2025) said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have raised the issue of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood in his national address. Abdullah reminded that the demand for statehood continues to dominate public concerns in the Union Territory. He said the PM focused only on GST reforms while ignoring J&K’s key issue.
On Sunday (September 21), PM Modi spoke about the benefits of GST reforms in his address to the nation. The revised GST rates came into effect the next day. Reacting to this, Abdullah said, “You are talking about GST, but it would have been better if you had spoken about our statehood.”
Abdullah also expressed hope that the Supreme Court, which will hear petitions on J&K in October, will deliver a fair judgment. “Not just the NC, but every citizen of J&K wants statehood back,” he told reporters in Srinagar.
On other questions, Abdullah said the case of JKLF chairman Yasin Malik lies with the courts. He also reacted to the detention of AAP MLA Mehraj Malik. According to him, the legislator’s language was wrong, but booking him under PSA was an overstep. “They could have solved it through talks,” he added.
