Budgam: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah accused the BJP of depriving the people of Jammu and Kashmir from the elected government for the last several years. A delegation of opposition leaders from Jammu and Kashmir, led by Lok Sabha member Farooq Abdullah, today met Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajeev Kumar and demanded early assembly elections in the Union Territory. A delegation of leaders from National Conference (NC), Congress, CPI (M), Dogra Sabha, Panther’s Party, PDP and Awami National Conference met the CED in New Delhi and submitted a memorandum demanding early elections. In the memorandum, the leaders said that the Election Commission is under constitutional obligation to conduct assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
Omar Abdullah, on the other hand, spoke to reporters on the sidelines of a party convention in Arigam Khansaheb area of central Kashmir’s Budgam district. Omar further said that the last election in Jammu and Kashmir was held in the year 2014 and since then no assembly elections have been held here.
Asked why he always meets opposition leaders and not the government, Omar Abdullah said there is no fun in meeting the government as it doesn’t budge and doesn’t listen to him. “We have stopped meeting the government as it is a futile exercise… There is nothing wrong in meeting the Election Commission which is responsible for conducting elections across India,” he said. The delegation wanted to know what wrong the people of Jammu and Kashmir have done here that they are being deprived of their elected government.
Omar Abdullah said there is no one in Jammu and Kashmir except the opposition, while the government dictates the terms and does not take people or political leaders along. “The government only knows how to harass people. When we tried to meet the government, it did not agree.”
Omar Abdullah also demanded the release of all political prisoners including former MLA Engineer Rashid. In response to a question, Omar Abdullah said that not only Engineer Rashid but all those Kashmiris who are lodged in different jails should be released. He said that the Public Safety Act should be abolished from Jammu and Kashmir forever as the law was being misused to detain people illegally.
We are not betraying anyone; We do what we say. There are some people who help BJP behind closed doors and we always say that we are against BJP and want to keep them away and we will always work for it.
Regarding the postponement of the examinations by JKSSB after the controversy over APTECH job recruitment agency, Omar Abdullah said that it is better late than never. However, he demanded a thorough probe and said that something is wrong and people want to know why a blacklisted agency got the contract to conduct the exam for job recruitment in Jammu and Kashmir.