Srinagar: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday rejected the “backdoor appointments” allegations levelled by PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, saying the government will bring out the entire truth before the people within a day or two.
Abdullah said Mehbooba Mufti’s allegations were akin to the pot calling the kettle black.
“There is a saying, ‘the pot calling the kettle back’. Those who made the most illegal and backdoor appointments, those whose backdoor appointments were cancelled by the courts, do we forget that?” Abdullah told reporters here.
The PDP chief had on Thursday alleged that the NC government had made 25,000 “backdoor appointments” in the union territory.
Abdullah claimed when Mehbooba Mufti was the chief minister in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, her maternal uncle Sartaj Madni’s son was hired through a backdoor appointment and then removed as per the court’s directions.
“(Can we forget) how many hundreds of backdoor appointments were made in the J&K Bank, in which investigative agencies are still running probes today. If I start counting the backdoor appointments of PDP-BJP (rule), you would not have enough time to count them,” he added.
Abdullah asserted he would answer if the PDP backed up its allegations with proof.
“Let them bring even one piece of evidence to back up that allegation, and I am ready to answer. Give just one name of any single candidate who was hired under a backdoor appointment, we are ready to give a clarification. But, we will not give a full response to these baseless allegations here,” he said.
The CM said the government has gathered all the information, and God willing, in the next one or two days, “two of my senior ministers will address the press and present the entire truth before the people”.
Earlier, Abdullah joined the Ashura gathering here as hundreds of Shia mourners participated in the procession on the tenth day of the Islamic month of Muharram.
The chief minister joined mourners at Zadibal in downtown Srinagar, and distributed refreshments at a stall set up by his party, the National Conference (NC).
“We all know the importance of Ashura. We all remember the sacrifice of Hazrat Imam Hussain (AS), and the lesson in that sacrifice. When people forget those lessons, we face destruction and ruin,” he said.
Abdullah expressed hope that the day is not far when the Ashura procession returns to its original route.
“We have made many attempts before as well for this procession to return to its old route, but we were not entirely successful in doing so. We will continue our efforts in the future,” he said.
