Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said a decision is yet to be taken over the location of a proposed National Law University (NLU) in the Union Territory.
When asked about the controversy over the potential establishment of the NLU in Kashmir, the Chief Minister asked, “When Jammu got IIT and the IIM, what did Kashmir get at that time? Why did you people not talk about equality then, saying that one should be opened in Jammu and the other in Kashmir?”
“You did not feel bad when both were opened in Jammu, and now, when it comes to the issue of National Law University, you see discrimination [if it were to come up in Kashmir],” he said, without naming anyone. He also called for the issue of new educational institutions not to be politicised.
His statement came amid growing demand by students and several groups for the NLU to be set up in Jammu.
During the autumn session of the J&K Legislative Assembly, Abdullah had announced that the NLU would start functioning from April 2026 at temporary facilities in Budgam’s Ompora. Making a statement in response to a resolution moved by Congress MLA Nizam-ud-Din Bhat, the Chief Minister had said that the permanent campus’s location would be finalised later, emphasising the urgency to start the institution as students from J&K have to go outside the UT to study law.
Following this announcement, the BJP had lodged a complaint with the Election Commission, alleging that Abdullah had violated the Model Code of Conduct since it came following the announcement of the Assembly byelection in Budgam constituency, which had fallen vacant after the Chief Minister chose to retain his Ganderbal seat.
