Omar for level playing field for all parties
Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR/JAMMU, Aug 7: National Conference president and former Chief Minister Dr. Farooq Abdullah today said that his party wouldn’t have alliance with any party in the upcoming Assembly polls.
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Speaking to reporters here, Abdullah said that his party wouldn’t have any sort of alliance with any party. “No, there wouldn’t be any alliance, “he said.
Abdullah’s statement has made it clear that NC wouldn’t have any pre-poll alliance with constituents of the INDIA bloc partners, especially Congress with which it allied in Lok Sabha polls.
The NC president said that everything is being decided by the PM and HM these days and the Election Commission of India can’t announce dates for J&K polls on their own.
“The Election Commission is coming; they will hold discussions with every stakeholder and it will later have discussions with the Government of India and decide the dates for the polls. They can’t announce the dates on their own. Today everything is in the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah and it is up to them. This Government can do anything, it will fall one day and let us know what the next Government will do.”
Abdullah said the Government of India should remain alert for any threat due to hostile neighbours.
“Bangladesh issue is different and here it is different. Haseena was pro-India and the people of that country are not pro-India. She ran the Government till she could. The Government of India should remain alert for any threats as none of our neighbours is our ally today,” he said.
The NC president said that the Government should revisit its foreign policy and make friends with the neighbours. “We are alone whether it is Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka. The sorry state of affairs is that this big brother has annoyed the younger ones. It is need of the hour that SAARC should be revived and India should play the role of big brother in its affairs. It should sit with other countries and resolve the issues so that they become our friends again,” he said.
On Hajj pilgrimage, Abdullah said that no Government can stop anyone from proceeding to the pilgrimage. “If someone intends to go to Hajj, they can’t stop. There is no concession now for pilgrimage and no one is spending their money for it,” he said.
The NC president advised the Government not to interfere in the religious affairs of people. “If someone comes for Amarnath yatra or Badri Nath this year, can they stop him/her from visiting the next year. It is a religious issue and the government should keep off from it,” he said.
Meanwhile National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said his party is prepared for the elections and wants a level playing field for all parties in the Union Territory.
Expressing confidence about restoration of full Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir after the Assembly elections, Abdullah said “they (BJP) cannot dare to lie to the Supreme Court making a promise on the subject”.
“The ECI is touring Jammu and Kashmir from tomorrow (Thursday) and our only request to them is to issue the election notification as soon as possible to start the process. We are also hopeful that all parties will be treated equally so that we can fight the elections on a level playing field,” Omar told reporters on the sidelines of a public rally at Nagri in Kathua district.
The former Chief Minister said that his party started preparing for the elections the day when the Supreme Court set the deadline of September 30 for holding of the Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir last year.
On the recent Home Ministry order granting more powers to the Lt Governor, Omar said for the time being, all the powers will be with him but the Government cannot escape from fulfilling its promise of restoring full Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
“They have talked about it in Parliament but I will go with what they have said in the Supreme Court because in other places they might not speak the truth. They will not dare to lie to the Supreme Court as they have assured it that after elections they will restore full statehood (to J&K) – not half, half-hearted, Delhi or Pondicherry model,” he said. On the prevailing situation in Bangladesh, the National Conference leader in a lighter vein said “when my own situation is not so good, what I should speak for others”.
“We will only hope that the people of Bangladesh live peacefully,” he added. Abdullah said there are many young boys and girls from Jammu and Kashmir getting education in Bangladesh and there should be proper arrangements for their security. “They have temporarily returned and we are eagerly waiting for them to return to Bangladesh and complete their education,” he said.
Asked about the BJP opt-repeated statement of ‘Naya’ J&K post abrogation of Article 370, the National Conference leader said they are only talking about it in Parliament as on the ground the new J&K is not seen anywhere.
“There is no improvement (in J&K) and if any had happened that is we are doomed. If you look at it from a security perspective, there is no place left where you do not see the influence of terrorism whether it is Pir Panjal, Chenab valley or Jammu,” he said.
Omar attacked the BJP over its claims of a “new and prosperous” Jammu and Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370 and alleged that the situation on the ground was the complete opposite.
“I am compelled to ask what the people (of the Union Territory) have got in the past five years,” he said.
Omar said holding Assembly elections before the September 30 deadline set by the Supreme Court was no favour of the BJP-led Centre.
“They are speaking about ‘naya (new)’ and ‘khushhal (prosperous)’ Jammu and Kashmir (post Article 370 abrogation) but the situation on the ground is completely opposite and that is why they could not hold Assembly elections till date because of the fear of defeat,” said Abdullah, a former Chief Minister of the erstwhile State.
Referring to Union Minister G Kishan Reddy’s statement that the Assembly elections would be held in September, he said, “If they are talking about elections today, they are not doing any favour to us.”
“It was the Supreme Court, which set a deadline of September 30 for holding Assembly elections while delivering its judgment on the Article 370 abrogation, otherwise they would have delayed it again on some pretext. Lt Governor (Manoj Sinha) also talked about holding the elections and we are eagerly waiting for the polls,” he said.
Abdullah said there was no doubt about the sounding of the election bugle though earlier “we were concerned whether the polls will be held or not”.
“After 2018 (when the PDP-BJP Government collapsed), there has been no popular government in Jammu and Kashmir, which witnessed a major change in 2019,” he said.
Abdullah said the BJP made a lot of promises while making the Constitutional changes but nothing could be found on the ground five years down the line.
“They talked about industrialisation, generating employment and improving our lives by ending terrorism. Today, given the situation, we are compelled to ask what have we achieved in five years?” he said.
No major projects or industries have been set up, inflation is at its peak and unemployment is the highest in the country while terrorism has spread to the peaceful Jammu region, Abdullah alleged.
“At that time, it was said the abrogation of Article 370 would open the doors of development with new factories coming up to accommodate our youngsters. From Kathua to Samba to Bari Brahmana (in Jammu region), one is only seeing those factories and industrial units that were already there,” the National Conference leader said.
He said the BJP had claimed the abrogation of Article 370 was necessary to save Jammu and Kashmir from Pakistani guns and conspiracy.
“Today, I am speaking with authority that Kathua is not the way we left it in 2014 as there are frequent encounters and attacks and our brave security forces are sacrificing their lives. The situation is no different in Pir Panjal, Chenab Valley, Jammu and Udhampur and other parts of the Jammu region,” he said.
Continuing his attack on the BJP, Abdullah said the administration was driving people out from their lands, granted to them by the National Conference government headed by party founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah under a land-to-tiller scheme.
Jammu and Kashmir was the only place in the country where Dalits moved around with their heads held high and it was possible for them to get rights over land, Abdullah claimed.
“This is a place where you can see a Dalit riding a horse to get his bride and no power can bring him down and force him to walk,” he said. Referring to the general elections, Abdullah said the Lok Sabha poll results showed that the National Conference was going to form the Government in Jammu and Kashmir.
“We did not contest from Udhampur and Jammu and also lost our seat from Baramulla but, despite all this, the National Conference got the highest number of assembly seats,” he said. “We do not want a government where we have to take support from anyone else.”
Abdullah also advised leaders to work hard for strengthening the party in Kathua district.
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