Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], November 10 (ANI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has hit back at Leader of Opposition and BJP leader Sunil Sharma over his “Swear on Quran” remarks on him.
Sharma had asked Abdullah to swear on the Holy Quran that he did not seek an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls for statehood.
“Go to a mosque or a religious place, hold the Quran in your hand, and swear that you did not go to Delhi to form the government,” Sunil Sharma said.
In response, J-K CM Abdullah posted on X on Sunday and stated that he does not tell lies for a living, unlike Sharma.
“I swear on the Holy Quran that I didn’t seek an alliance with the BJP in 2024 for Statehood or for any other reason. Unlike Sunil Sharma, I don’t tell lies for a living,” Abdullah said.
Omar Abdullah has been very vocal about the issue of statehood. However, the opposition has criticised the J&K Chief Minister, accusing him of using the statehood issue as an excuse to avoid focusing on governance.
There has been a demand for statehood in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370.
On 5 August 2019, the Centre scrapped Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and bifurcated the erstwhile state into two Union Territories: Jammu and Kashmir (with a legislature) and Ladakh (without a legislature).
On September 7, 2024, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that only the central government and Prime Minister Modi have the authority to grant statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and it will be given at an “appropriate time”.
“Congress and the National Conference are saying they will restore statehood. Tell me who can give it? It is only the Central government, PM Modi, who can give it. So stop fooling the people of Jammu and Kashmir. We have said that at an appropriate time after the elections, we will give statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. We have said this in Parliament… Rahul Gandhi should stop misleading the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” Shah said.
Earlier in October this year, Omar Abdullah said that the Centre-led BJP government should categorically state that the restoration of the statehood is dependent on their coming to power in the Union Territory.
“The BJP, in its manifesto or in its promises to Parliament and to the Supreme Court, never said that statehood is dependent on the BJP coming to power in Jammu and Kashmir. If that is the case, I think the BJP should be honest that so long as there is a non-BJP government, you will not get statehood,” Abdullah said while addressing a press conference.
Following the first year anniversary of the National Conference (NC) government in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, CM Omar Abdullah had asserted that the solution to all of Jammu and Kashmir’s problems lies in restoring statehood.
After forming the government in the Union Territory, the Abdullah-led government even passed a resolution urging the Union Government to restore the statehood.
However, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister Omar Abdullah-led National Conference (NC) government, questioning its performance and drawing comparisons with former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s governance model.
Mufti praised the fact that, despite being a Union Territory like J&K, Delhi’s governance model under Kejriwal’s leadership “worked so well.”
Alleging that “Delhi LG had a gun pointed at Arvind Kejriwal’s head”, Mufti questioned why the current J&K administration, led by Omar Abdullah, couldn’t make similar initiatives.
“Even Arvind Kejriwal governed a UT. He provided free electricity, free water, improved schools and health services, and legalised illegal colonies. Delhi LG had a gun pointed at Arvind Kejriwal’s head, but he still worked so well. His governance in a UT is a model. Why isn’t Omar Abdullah providing free gas, power, water, increasing the widow fund and giving employment? Not having statehood is just an excuse to not work,” she said.
Recently, on October 25, JKPC President Sajad Lone posted on X and alleged that the National Conference had a “dialogue” with the BJP in the Rajya Sabha polls.
“Dr Farooq sahib has claimed that BJP offered them a deal for three Rajya Sabha seats. That means a dialogue mechanism exists between the two parties. That means they had a dialogue about Rajya Sabha. Wonder whether they informed their allies that they were having a dialogue with the BJP. Isn’t that what we have been saying all along. Fixed match,” Lone posted on X.
However, Abdullah hit back at Lone for calling the recent Rajya Sabha election a “fixed match” between the National Conference and the BJP.
Speaking to the media, CM Abdullah questioned Lone’s credibility, saying someone who initially refused to participate in the polls had no right to comment.
He accused Lone of indirectly aiding the BJP by abstaining from voting and urged him to clarify his political stance, asserting that the people of Handwara didn’t elect him “to stay silent or play a double role.” (ANI)
Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed of ANI; only the image & headline may have been reworked by News Services Division of World News Network Inc Ltd and Palghar News and Pune News and World News
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