UT with assembly is the worst form of govt: Omar Abdulla

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said that a Union Territory with an assembly is the worst form of government in the country. “I had no hesitation in saying this earlier, and I am saying it again that there should be only two systems in this country -- either you have a UT without assembly or you have a state. A UT is an area too small to be a state, and that criterion does not apply to J&K," he said. Talking to reporters in Jammu he said his government is working with the Centre on a time frame for the restoration of statehood to the Union Territory. "We are working on a time frame, but I do not think it is appropriate for me to talk about it at this point in time. Needless to say that it is work in progress," Abdullah said.

#WATCH | Jammu | J&K CM Omar Abdullah says,"...I still maintain that a UT with Assembly is by far the worst form of government in the country. I have no hesitation in saying this. There should only be two systems in this country- either you have a UT without Assembly or a… pic.twitter.com/jNrDPTjCsI

— ANI (@ANI) March 7, 2025

Asked whether he is satisfied with the funds allocated to Jammu and Kashmir by the central government, the chief minister said he is extremely grateful for what has been given."I do not want to sound ungrateful by saying that we should have got more. Whatever we get, we will utilise, and what we've got so far, we are thankful for it,” he said. Responding to a question about the long pending demand of the regularisation of daily wagers, need-based workers and other similar categories of workers, he said, “We have to do something for them." "First, we have to decide their numbers because their number varies. We do not have a single number anywhere, and when we have that number, we can form a policy," he said.