Picture :@JKNC_/X
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has appreciated Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for his “focused” and “determined” approach to restore the Union territory’s economy following a major setback to J-K’s tourism sector.
Reflecting on the nation’s economic journey since 2019, marked by a sequence of unprecedented global and domestic challenges, the finance minister highlighted the specific efforts underway in Jammu and Kashmir.
Without naming Pakistan, she said the country had trouble “with our borders which has always been both through the state actors and non-state actors”, and referred to Jammu and Kashmir. JKNC had posted on X the meeting .
Hon’ble Chief Minister Omar Abdullah called on the Hon’ble Union Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitaraman and held detailed discussion on key developmental priorities of Jammu and Kashmir.
The meeting focused on strengthening infrastructure, boosting investment and ensuring… pic.twitter.com/nVIoMagaRH
— JKNC (@JKNC_) November 20, 2025
“This time you saw what happened, particularly at a time when Jammu and Kashmir was coming around, the economy was picking up under the Central rule,” Sitharaman said at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit.
The Centre had actually gone into the granular details of looking at Jammu and Kashmir’s economy, “removing the undergrowth and really pushing it up so that it becomes buoyant”, she added.
“The restoration of the J-K Bank is something which the country can be proud of, the way in which J-K’s economy revived…,” she said, citing the revival of the local economy before it took a “major hit” due to external factors that brought the crucial tourism industry to a standstill.
“I must appreciate the chief minister of J-K who met me twice, focused on restoring the economy after the tourism sector came to a standstill,” Sitharaman said, in a veiled reference to the April 22 attack in Pahalgam when Pakistani terrorists shot dead 26 people, mainly tourists.
The finance minister was replying to a question on the resilience of the Indian economy amid a turbulent global landscape.
Speaking at the same summit, Abdullah thanked the finance minister for her “kind” words and quipped, “Now, the next part — ma’am, please show me the money because that’s in extremely short supply.”
The chief minister admitted that he might get into trouble with some of his constituents after making a statement that the Centre has been very helpful to his government, and said he is very happy to own the decisions he takes.
“Good, bad, ugly… I have never shied away from taking responsibility for what I have done. And, therefore, if I have pivoted my government or my politics to ensure a good working relationship with the government of India, I own that. And I will own its consequences,” Abdullah said.
It is important to understand that a good working relationship with the Centre does not mean that his party has any alliance with the BJP, he said.
“I do not see eye to eye with the BJP. I will continue to oppose the politics of the BJP. But at the same time, I will seek to work with the government of India as best possible,” Abdullah said.
