Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday claimed the people of Jammu and Kashmir "found their voice" after the passage of the resolution on the restoration of the special status of the erstwhile state and it seems that the "burden is off their shoulders".

Speaking on the vote of thanks for the Lt Governor's address in the House, he said, "The first session of the newly elected Jammu and Kashmir Assembly is short in duration but historic in terms of agenda." The first session of the new assembly began on Monday and is scheduled to end on Friday.

Abdullah said that when he spoke in the House the last time, Jammu and Kashmir was a state and had a special place and status in the country.

"It has all been snatched," he said in an apparent reference to the August 5, 2019, development when the special status under Article 370 was revoked and the state was bifurcated into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

The chief minister remarked that the first session of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly is "short in duration but historic in terms of agenda".

"I have got an opportunity to talk like this in the House after a long time. In March 2014, I spoke on the governor's address as chief minister and in 2018 as the opposition. So much has changed since then and we have lost a lot." "When I think about it, I cannot believe it," Abdullah said.

Referring to the passage of the resolution asking the Centre to work out a constitutional mechanism for restoring the special status of the erstwhile state, the chief minister said, "After its passage, I am happy that people have found their voice and they are able to talk." "We felt suffocated and thought we wouldn't be able to talk. It seems that the burden is off the shoulders of the people. I have seen people who had forgotten their pens and keyboards find their footing again. They are feeling free enough to express themselves," he said.

Abdullah said, "While I will regret what we lost, I am happy that I have the enthusiasm that whatever time is fixed for me by Allah, I will not waste a day. I will serve the people."

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