Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, Apr 30: National Conference (NC) vice president and former Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah today said that for the first time since 1996, Assembly elections in the State were not conducted on time and blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the delay.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of election rally in South Kashmir’s Shopian district, Omar said it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi led Government in Centre and BJP and its allies in Jammu and Kashmir who are responsible for the delay in Assembly polls. “This is for the first time since 1996 that the Assembly elections were not held on time and for this, I am not to be blamed rather PM Modi and his Government are to be held responsible”, he said.
The NC leader accused BJP of being habitual of horse trading in Government formations. “BJP is habitual of forming Government’s by resorting to horse trading, they have done it before and even tried to do the same last year in the State by attempting to make Sajjad Lone the CM”, he said.
Click here to watch video
“Once a new Government is formed next month, we will start deliberating with them regarding the ban on Jamaat-e- Islami and we will seek the resumption of dialogue as well”, Omar said.
The former Chief Minister accused BJP of threatening people of the State by snatching their special status. “Whoever spoke till now, be it Prime Minister Narendra Modi or the Finance Minister, they have categorically threatened people of Jammu and Kashmir that they are going to do away with the special status of the State”, he said.
Omar said that the Special status is identity of the people of the State. “If the special status would have been limited to paper only, it would have been fine, but our identity, the future of our young generation is directly dependent on the Articles 370 and 35A. You have to understand the fact that whatever we have achieved so far in the State, it is all because of this law. There used to be a time before independence that you would toil and sweat while working on the field but the earnings were never yours”, he said.
The former Chief Minister accused Mehbooba Mufti and Lone of bringing miseries to the people of Kashmir during last five years. “While voting this time around you will have to keep in mind the last 5 years. You have to keep in mind the miseries inflicted on the people. Those who are shedding crocodile tears today and are trying to express their sympathies-be it those with the symbol of pen and inkpot or those with the apple-they should be asked where were their sympathies for last 5 years”, he asked.
“Where were their sympathies when children like Insha were being blinded with pellets and youngsters were being arrested. Back then, they only used to say that are they (youth) going to buy toffees at the camps of security forces, and that the forces also know how to use their guns, they haven’t got them just for show off. Back then, they used to threaten and suppress people”, the NC leader said.
Omar took on the PDP president for her silence over reservation for Pahari people. “We have seen Mehbooba Mufti shedding tears recently, why didn’t she cry when she was the Chief Minister. We had created a law for a 5 per cent reservation for Pahari community, then we were out of power and when Mehbooba Mufti become the CM, the 5 per cent was brought down to 3, where was she then, we didn’t see any sympathy that time”, she said.
The former Chief Minister said that Prime Minister made false promises and made life difficult for people. “We are not those people who will make life difficult for you, or make false promises like the Prime Minister. In every speech he is saying that he gave people a gas cylinder, but he is not saying that he has made refilling of that cylinder difficult for the common masses”, he said.
Omar promised to scrap the Public Safety Act (PSA) if voted to power. “We have been saying it, and I want to reiterate it in Shopian that if we are voted to power, we will scrap the law of Public Safety Act (PSA). We will make sure not a single youngster is booked under PSA, and families are not made to suffer”, he said.
The NC leader said that his party gave Modi peaceful Kashmir but he destroyed it. “Five years of Modi’s rule have been destructive and costly for the State. The reality is that we have given PM Modi a well created peaceful atmosphere and he has disrupted that with all his might. It is because of that, that Modi is not even able to hold Assembly elections in the State”, he said.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
