New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS): The Central government on Thursday told the Supreme Court that it cannot give any exact timeframe for the restoration of statehood in Jammu and Kashmir. 

“We are progressively proceeding to make J&K a complete state. But, I am unable to give the exact time period right now about the complete statehood, as per my instructions,” submitted Solicitor General Tushar Mehta before the Constitution Bench hearing pleas against abrogation of Article 370.

Mehta added that the Central government is ready for elections at any time as updation of the voter list is substantially over by the Election Commission. He said that the call for election will be taken by the State Election Commission and the Election Commission of India.

On Tuesday, the Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud asked the Attorney General and Solicitor General to seek instructions from the Central government over the timeframe to restore statehood of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir which was downgraded into two union territories in 2019.

During the hearing, the top court had stressed that the erstwhile state cannot be a “Union Territory in permanence", adding that restoration of democracy was very important.