There was nothing new in the war of  words over statehood between Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma. They had been  engaging in such verbal duels before too. But what is more disturbing is that such a critical issue is being consumed by the mutual exchange of  jibes at each other. This is a critical issue because it is on the national agenda as pronounced by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the floor of the Parliament. Amit Shah, at the time of the first announcement in the Parliament on August 6, 2019, a day after Article 370 abrogation amendment was passed in Rajya Sabha, and in his subsequent comments on the issue, had made a caveat  of “appropriate time.”

Much has changed since then, but  Jammu and Kashmir ‘s status remains unchanged. Home Minister had spoken of the end goal. There are some technical issues involved, legal and political, but the real issue is that there is no meeting point between the two sides.

A new blueprint is needed to work out the mechanism. Shifting stands will not help anyone. And amidst all this, we should be aware, as should be leadership of all hues that statehood issue cannot be discussed in  this manner. It has to be understood keeping in view the sensitivity of the place and people. There is a need to revisit the whole thing  in proper perspective.

In the first place, statehood is a matter of debate and discussion on  the........

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