Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Dec 5: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said it was “impossible” for his party, the National Conference (NC), to join hands with the BJP, trashing reports about the party giving any such indications.
“Where from did you get such reports (of a tie-up with the BJP)? You make such reports at your homes. What can I do? There is no such thing from our side. We have not given any such indication,” Omar told reporters here.
The Chief Minister said such reports were created by some journalist attributing it to “senior sources”.
“Some journalist makes a story on a table … You do not give any names and say senior sources said that. I know what senior sources are and you make them at home.
“NC has no intention to join hands with the BJP. We cannot join our hands with such a party whose ministers at the Centre use such words against us, it is impossible,” Omar said, apparently referring to the controversial remarks made by Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti.
The Chief Minister was speaking at the sidelines of a prayer meeting at the mausoleum of his grandfather and former CM Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah on his birth anniversary.
Omar said it was a good sign for his party that people in large numbers were attending his rallies during electioneering.
“My own sense is that things have picked up for us in the last 15 to 20 days. The participation that I have seen in my public meetings … More than the participation, because the numbers are not as important as enthusiasm … The level of enthusiasm I see among my cadre, the level of enthusiasm I see among my workers, the enthusiasm among the participants in the public meetings, I, honestly, have not seen this in the last two or three elections.
“This, for me, is almost a unique experience. I have gone in areas and had public meetings where traditionally nobody has shown up for our public meetings and that I think it (large attendance) is a good sign,” he said.
Condoling the death of security personnel and civilians in separate militant attacks in the Valley today, Omar expressed hope that the Central Government would plug the gaps in the counter-insurgency grid.
“It’s been a terrible day – four attacks and a number of deaths… Security forces and innocent civilians killed in the Valley,” Omar said.
“My heartfelt condolences to the families of those killed in the four attacks today. I hope @HMOIndia (home minister) takes steps to plug the gaps in C I (counter-insurgency) grid (sic),” he wrote on micro-blogging site twitter.com.
Omar said the attack on the Army camp in Uri, which left 11 security forces personnel including an army officer dead, was a desperate attempt to disrupt peace and normalcy.
“Once again shows the desperate levels militants will go to disrupt peace and normalcy,” Omar said.
Omar said it was due to his demand for revocation of AFSPA that fake encounters and killings like Machil and Nowgam were taken “a lot more seriously” even as he asserted to continue his fight against the controversial Act.
“I have seen two major developments for which I am actually pretty reassured. One is that fake encounters and killings like Machil and Nowgam have now started to be taken a lot more seriously and justice is at least in the process of being done, which was not the case before I took up this issue of AFSPA.
“So, that for me is some cause of satisfaction. The fact is that we would continue to fight for the revocation of AFSPA, there are no two ways about that,” Omar said.
The CM said the fact that the BJP was talking about creating conducive conditions for the Act to go led him to believe that he was “right”.
“More importantly, today even the BJP is talking about the revocation of AFSPA. The BJP vice-president in-charge Jammu and Kashmir has said that the BJP will also create conditions conducive for (revocation of) AFSPA. That is what I have been saying.
“I have been saying that we have created those conditions. Now the BJP is toeing my line as well. So, I think, both these things led me to believe that I was right to raise this issue,” he said.
Omar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should clear his stand on the issue of Article 370, a constitutional provision which guarantees special status to the state.
“He (Modi) is coming for elections. We hope the Prime Minister would issue some clarity on the issues on which campaigning is taking place and on which people have questions … As a Kashmiri, I would want to know what the Prime Minister wants to do with Article 370 and what is the agenda of the Centre (on the issue),” Omar said.
Omar said the BJP had contested the Parliament elections promising to abrogate the Article, but had now “kept silent” on the issue as it was seeking votes from the people of Kashmir.
“Article 370 is such an issue on which the BJP has contested elections since the beginning. It has been just seven or eight months, when they sought votes from the people of Jammu and the country saying they would abrogate Article 370 if the people made them successful.
“Immediately after becoming a Minister, Jitendra Singh had said they had started discussions on the abrogation of the article. Now that they are seeking votes from the people of Kashmir, they have kept silent on the issue of Article 370,” Omar said.
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