The ruling National Conference (NC) on Thursday said that they are hopeful that the statehood to Jammu and Kashmir will likely be restored in the upcoming budget session.

“We hope that the Statehood will be restored in the upcoming budget session. The dual-power centre is never ever in the interest of any nation, so the restoration of statehood becomes imperative to address the concerns of people and ensure jobs and other things to the masses,” NC leader and MLA Zadibal Tanvir Sadiq told reporters in Srinagar.

He said it is easy to fight with centre and stage protests, but the Prime Minister has himself made a commitment to the people and thus, there was no need to lock horns with the centre over the restoration of statehood.

Also, he said that Constituency Development Fund (CDF) for the MLAs will be Rs 40 crore each. “This has been promised by the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to all the MLAs from NC as well as from the opposition. The proposal in this regard will be submitted soon,” he said.