*Castigates Cong for indulging in blame-game
Excelsior Correspondent
samba/srinagar, Nov 26: Launching scathing attack on Bharatiya Janata Party for attempting to mislead the people of Jammu and Kashmir by narrating false tales, Chief Minister and working president of National Conference, Omar Abdullah today said that it was absurd on the part of the saffron party leadership to seek vote in favour of Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister is not going to raise the local issues of people in the Legislative Assembly.
“Each and every contesting candidate and leader of the BJP is seeking vote on the name of Narendra Modi as if he (Modi) would stop leading the country and come here to raise the issues of people in the Legislative Assembly”, he said.
Mr Omar further said, “Mr Modi has already been made Prime Minister… he is not fighting Assembly election as such has nothing to do with the local issues. Such issues will have to be raised by the MLAs and for that they must have full knowledge about the people’s grievances”, adding “instead of associating themselves with the issues confronting the people of the areas from they are contesting elections, the contesting candidates of BJP are preferring to seek vote on the name of Narendra Modi”.
Chief Minister, who was addressing a mammoth election rally in favour of party candidate Surjit Singh Slathia, appealed the people of Jammu and Kashmir to be cautious in electing their representatives and put weight behind those who always remained with them through thick and thin and not those, who will have to seek the permission from their mentors in New Delhi even for raising their issues.
Expressing surprise over the ignorance of BJP and its leadership about the ground realities in Jammu and Kashmir, he said that even the Prime Minister doesn’t have the knowledge about the facts otherwise he would not have given misleading statement about the tourist traffic in Jammu and Kashmir and promising to ask Bollywood to resume shooting of films in Kashmir valley.
“The BJP and its leadership should know that the number of yatris to Mata Vaishno Devi Ji Shrine has crossed over one crore figure yearly in the tenure of my Government and during the last five year more than 50 lakh tourists visited the valley annually which is also a record so far in last about 25 years”, Chief Minister said, adding “BJP should also know that Bollywood film companies are already busy in the valley for shooting films and this process is going on since last five years”.
Further castigating BJP, the working president of National Conference said, “this party has only agenda to divide the people on non-issues, which can be gauged from their stereotype statements mentioning discrimination with Jammu”. He said that BJP leadership should be aware of the fact that NC-led Government provided scores of big ticket and mega projects to Jammu which includes flyovers, bridges, gondola, artificial lake, sewerage and drainage disposal systems, power generation schemes, road upgradation and water supply augmentation etc.
While pointing towards the statement of Prime Minister made during his recent rally at Kishtwar, Omar Abdullah said, “it doesn’t suit the Prime Minister to be ignorant about the issues of the area he is referring to that too in a public meeting”, adding “let me inform that my Government has already provided Rs 10 crore mega water supply project for Kishtwar town”.
He said that thousands of development schemes completed and commissioned in the State during the last about six years in all the regions and sub-regions itself vindicate the high performance of his Government. “We don’t believe in doing politics on religion and region like BJP. We do not create wedge between Hindus and Muslims and do not do politics on the issues of development and public good”, he further said and added that unity, solidarity, communal amity and equitable development of all regions and sub-regions of the State is benchmark of National Conference and it will put all its might and efforts to strengthen pluralistic ethos of Jammu and Kashmir.
Chief Minister didn’t spare the alliance partner Congress and launched scathing attack on its leadership by stating: “By attempting to take credit of all the good work done by NC-led Government and shifting blames for its own shortcomings and failures on NC, they (Congress leaders) want to mislead the people but they must keep in mind that voters are wise enough to judge opportunism and falsehood”.
“You cannot take credit for all the good work done by my Government and blame the National Conference and its leadership for the shortcomings of your own party and Ministers”, he told Congress leadership rejecting their poll propaganda of blame game to mislead people. “Infact Congress opposed the proposal moved by me three times in the Cabinet for creation of new administrative units in the State”, he said maintaining that Congress now wants to take its all credit for itself to lure voters.
Provincial President of NC, Devender Singh Rana was among others who addressed the rally.
Mr Omar also addressed party workers at Khada Madana in Samba.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister said that Prime Minister, Narinder Modi, should meet his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, in Kathmandu to remove the suspicion and hostility that has crept in the relations between the two countries.
Interacting with media-persons after filing his nomination papers from Sonwar Assembly constituency, he said, “We do hope that element of suspicion and hostility that has crept into our relation can gradually be done away with. And if SAARC Summit provides that opportunity, then nothing like that.”
“Two countries have fought wars but came close during former Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpaee and Manmohan Singh’s time. I don’t think there is anybody in the right mind who would not want dialogue. At the end of the day we tried all other alternatives to resolve our differences with Pakistan. We fought wars, we suspended dialogue but the closest we have come to resolving our differences is when India and Pakistan have been talking to each other”, he said.
When asked about high turnout being defeat of separatists and victory of ballot over bullet, Chief Minister said that there are four more phases left and we should wait for other phases to pass. “Yesterday’s high voter turnout is victory of democracy. Hopefully, other phases will also pass peacefully as this phase passed with equally large turnout of voters and then we can pass whatever judgments we want”, he added.
Chief Minister said that when fear of gun is less high voter turnout will favour the NC. “If any party has bore the brunt of militancy, it has been National Conference. And when the fear of gun is less, it is expected that NC workers will come out and that’s what may have happened yesterday”, he added.
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