Srinagar: The attack on the special status of Jammu and Kashmir did not start in 2019 but in 2015 when the PDP formed a government with the BJP, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Saturday.
“The BJP has caused maximum damage to Jammu and Kashmir. Everything was snatched from us. The map has not remained, our identity is under threat and special status is gone,” Abdullah said, addressing an election meeting in Mirgund of Budgam assembly segment.
He accused the opposition PDP of facilitating the BJP’s plans.
“In the 2014 elections, late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and his daughter went from door to door on the plank of keeping the BJP out. The people voted for them in numbers, but soon after the elections, they (PDP) joined hands with the BJP,” the NC leader said.
Bypolls are being held in Budgam assembly segment on November 11 as Abdullah had vacated the seat last year, retaining Ganderbal seat after winning both segments in the 2024 assembly elections.
The attack on the special status of Jammu and Kashmir did not start in 2019 but in 2015, when the PDP formed a government with the BJP, Abdullah said
“Being in the government, they (PDP) struck at our roots… Today, if I am the chief minister of a Union territory and not a state, it is because of them. Who brought the GST and the SARFAESI Act? They did. The rot did not start in 2019; it started in 2015,” he said.
Abdullah said the PDP has not apologised for its mistakes.
“They have not apologised for their mistakes. We just want to hear from them that they admit their mistake,” he said.
Abdullah reminded the voters of Budgam that the outcome of the polls did not have any bearing on his government but could lead to better development prospects for the assembly segment if it returned the ruling party candidate to the legislature.
“The vote in Budgam will not decide who will be the chief minister. That was decided last year. This vote will decide the future of Budgam.
“This election will neither make a government nor bring it down. As it is, this government is not going out in two or three months… There are four full years left.
“Would you want to miss it? If not, then the remedy is in your hands,” he said.
Abdullah said the people of Budgam will have two MLAs as he will be batting for the segment alongside National Conference candidate Aga Syed Mehmood, if he is elected.
“You will have two MLAs. It is a buy-one-get-one-free offer. The only candidate (Aga Mehmood) who has the backing of the cabinet and the chief minister,” he said.
The chief minister said there was a difference between being in the government and being in the opposition.
“If they were the same, then why would people chase the government? In government, you get more work done. I know it because I was an MLA in government (2009) and an MLA in the opposition (2014) as well. I could not do as much in Beerwah as I was able to do in Ganderbal,” he added.
The chief minister maintained his stand on not joining hands with the BJP, claiming his government and party were being targeted for “not falling in line”.
“We are being punished for keeping the BJP out. Had we joined hands with the BJP, the statehood would have been restored (already). We would not have faced any difficulty in governance, our officers would not have been transferred without our knowledge,” he claimed.
Abdullah said his National Conference was the only one fighting the BJP in Jammu and Kashmir.
“When PDP comes to ask for votes, ask them who is their candidate in Nagrota. Not one party has fielded a candidate from Nagrota. We have put up a candidate there so that there is a contest against the BJP.
“We wanted to leave the seat for Congress to contest, but we got a call at midnight that they do not want to contest. We had to prepare a candidate in the middle of the night. They are all in cahoots,” he said.
The National Conference vice-president said his party does not believe in the politics of deceit.
“We are what we are. Right or wrong, we leave it to the people,” he said.
Abdullah said he might have vacated the Budgam seat after elections last year but he has not ignored the segment as works worth Rs 110 crore have been undertaken over the year.
“I might not have remained MLA Budgam but we have spent the same money in Budgam as we have done in Ganderbal.”
Abdullah promised to set up a university in Budgam. He also said the central Kashmir constituency was ideally located for setting up the new international cricket stadium and academy in the valley.
“There are some advantages in Budgam …. the airport is nearby, the railway is also there and the new highway is also close by. There is no better place than Budgam for the new cricket stadium and academy that is being planned in Kashmir so that international matches and IPL matches can be held,” he said.
