Chief minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said he chose a Hindu from Jammu as his deputy chief minister to refute claims that his National Conference (NC) was a Muslim or Kashmir-centric party, launching a veiled attack on the BJP.

The assertion came on a day the new government acknowledged that a decision had been taken on the restoration of statehood.

Lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha has cleared a resolution passed by the Omar Abdullah-led cabinet urging the Centre to restore the statehood to the Union territory, officials said on Saturday.

The cabinet, which met under Omar’s chairmanship on Thursday, passed a unanimous resolution for the restoration of statehood in its original form, an official spokesperson said.

“The restoration of statehood will be the beginning of a healing process, reclaiming the constitutional rights and protecting the identity of people of Jammu and Kashmir,” a government statement issued on Saturday stated. “Protection of Jammu and Kashmir’s unique identity and constitutional rights of people remains the cornerstone of the newly elected government’s policy,” it added.

The statement said Omar would be visiting Delhi soon to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union ministers in this regard.

The official spokesman did not respond to allegations of a climbdown on Article 370.

The cabinet also decided to summon the Assembly in Srinagar on November 4 and advised the lieutenant governor to address it.

In his maiden speech in Jammu as a chief minister, Omar urged people not to be annoyed as “everything snatched from us” would be taken back.

He also appeared to hit out at the BJP by asserting that his government would not discriminate against Jammu or Hindus.

Omar said he had no compulsion to have a deputy chief minister as the Congress did not join the ministry, but he chose a leader from his party from Jammu to strike a balance between the two regions.

“Even before the election results were out, there was propaganda that Jammu will get nothing, will face discrimination and will be punished for not voting for the NC or the Congress,” he said. “I said on day one, this government
will belong to everyone and everybody will have representation.”

Omar said the appointment of a deputy chief minister from Jammu was an answer to those who levelled allegations that the NC was a party of Muslims or Kashmiris and believed in a dynastic rule.

“The deputy chief minister is from Jammu, a Hindu and not related to my family. What will you say now?” he asked.

Omar accused the Centre of taking several controversial measures to suit “one party” (the BJP), including delimitation, change in reservation rules and use of government machinery.

“The results are in front of you. It means all these measures can take you to elections but cannot win you elections,” he said.

The chief minister also wondered why Jammu (its Hindu heartland) voted in support of one particular party (the BJP) despite reports that there was a lot of anger against it in Jammu.

Three ministers in Omar’s cabinet are from Jammu and three from the Valley, including Omar.