‘Why he was silent when I campaigned for him’
Mir Farhat
SRINAGAR, Dec 7: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today hit back at senior Congress leader and leader of Opposition in Upper House of the Parliament, Ghulam Nabi Azad, saying that he is an opportunist politician.
Omar, while reacting to Azad’s remarks that Omar slept on issues and failed to rope in his Ministers, told reporters in Muran village of Rajpora constituency on the side lines of a poll rally that he took action against Congress Ministers. “I took action against G M Saroori. I took action against Peerzada Syed, and even I asked Vigilance Commission to probe my own Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand and his department over appointing fake teachers.”
He said that Azad could have taken more action against the Ministers as they all belonged to Congress. “If Ghulam Nabi Azad felt that his Congress Ministers were corrupt why he did not take more action against them. Whatever I could do I did,” he said.
Omar asked Azad to tell what action he took against PDP Ministers when he was the Chief Minister of the State for three years. “Ghulam Nabi Azad Sahab should tell what he did in his own Government. I took action against Congress Ministers. Can he tell did he take action against any PDP Minister? Not one,” Omar said.
He said Azad was playing an opportunist politics which he himself hates to do. “Ghulam Nabi Azad should have spoken about my Chief Ministership seven months before when I was going from one place to another to campaign for him and make him the MP from Udhampur,” he said, adding then he didn’t see my Government failing.
“He would praise my leadership and National Conference in every speech he would make. What has all of a sudden changed in seven months? This is opportunistic politics, and I don’t play opportunistic politics, If Azad sahib has to do it, I congratulate him on this,” he said.
Omar said he is surprised that Congress is solely opposing his party today and Azad is saying that his Government was a failure. “He did not see Government as a failure when I was trying to make Rahul Gandhi the Prime Minister of the country. Azad sahib, take a look at your rule,” he said.
Chief Minister reminded Azad of his resignation as Chief Minister when PDP withdrew support to his Government during the Amarnath land row in 2008. “You should remember under which conditions you left the State. You started Amarnath land row by the decision of your Cabinet. You set the State on fire. The stone-pelting started in your tenure. The traders of Kashmir were not ready to talk to the traders of Jammu. You left the State under those conditions and we slowly made the situation better,” he said.
On the allegations leveled by his rival PDP over Haji Yousuf’s death, Omar said that had threatened him of filing a case against him. “Leave it… PDP had said that they will register a case against me. Did they file any?” he asked.
The Chief Minister said that he did not go to attend the meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as his responsibility was to campaign for his party in the ongoing elections. “I did not go. Should I contest elections or go to attend meeting in Delhi. I am contesting elections, and my responsibility is to campaign for my party as a leader,” he said.
Omar added: “Since code of conduct is in place, so I cannot go there and demand anything for the State. If I had gone and asked for anything for my State, the BJP will complain to the Election Commission that I have violated the code of conduct,” he said. “Yet we didn’t go unrepresented. I sent my Chief Secretary and other senior officials,” he said.
Chief Minister said it would not have been fruitful if he had gone to the meeting. “It was not necessary for me to go to the meeting in the present circumstances. And neither would it have been beneficial for the state had I gone to attend the meeting,” he said.
The NC star campaigner also attacked the PDP for making false promises to the people in Pulwama and Rajpora that their candidate Haseeb Drabu will be the next Finance Minister. “Some people are roaming in the ongoing elections as fake Chief Ministers and fake Finance Ministers. But it is you who will make me as your Chief Minister and Mohiddin Mir as your Cabinet Minister,” he said.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
Comments are closed.