Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said that his hope about the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir had lessened, but not ended. “I was hopeful from the very first day,” he said in Jammu. “My hopefulness has lessened a bit, but it’s still there.”

“Naturally, the longer this goes on, the more that hope will fade. It’s human nature,” the chief minister said. “The more you make us wait, the less hopeful we will become.” He said it’s only been a year so far, and there’s still some hope left. “If something happens during this period of hopefulness, it will be good,” he said.

Earlier, in an interview, the Chief Minister said he would resign if statehood is not restored within a finite time.

Observers say Omar’s statement about resigning from the Chief Ministership highlights the

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