Katra, June 6 (KNS): According to Kashmir News Service (KNS), Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday raised the issue of restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir during the inauguration of the first train to the Valley by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Katra.

Referring to the 2014 inauguration of the Katra railway station, Omar said, “There are four people on this stage today who were present then — you (PM Modi) had just won the elections, Manoj Sinha sahib was MoS Railways, Jeetendra Singh was in the PMO, and I was the Chief Minister of a state.”

According to KNS, he remarked, “By the blessings of Mata Vaishno Devi, Sinha sahib got a promotion and I got a demotion. But I believe this will soon be rectified, and Jammu and Kashmir will regain its statehood under your watch.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel”

Omar also highlighted the historical significance of the train connectivity to Kashmir, saying that even the British had dreamt of linking the region by rail but failed. “What they couldn’t achieve has now happened under your leadership,” he said, as per KNS.

He further paid tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for prioritising the railway project. “It would be wrong not to thank Vajpayee ji, who declared it a national project and ensured budgetary support,” Omar said, according to KNS.

The project, which began in the 1980s, has now reached completion, connecting Kashmir to the rest of India by rail for the first time.(KNS)