New Delhi: The BJP on Sunday lashed out at Chief Minister Omar Abdullah over his accusation that it is trying to poach his National Conference party MLAs, saying that instead of making “speculative and baseless” claims, he should “introspect” on what kind of leaders he has in his party.
On Saturday, Abdullah accused the BJP of trying to bring down his government in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) by engineering a split in the ruling National Conference, claiming that his party MLAs were offered Rs 20-30 crore to switch sides.
Addressing a packed workers’ convention at the mausoleum of his grandparents at Hazratbal on the 26th death anniversary of his grandmother, Akbar Jehan, in Srinagar, Abdullah claimed the BJP was using money power to poach his MLAs.
When asked, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra categorically rejected Abdulla’s charge as “speculative and without any basis”, saying the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) does not believe in any action that deals a blow to democracy or runs counter to the democratic spirit.
“I find it astonishing when any leader speaks about his own party members in such a way, claiming that his people can be bought for sums like Rs 30 crore or Rs 12 crore,” the BJP MP said.
“It reminds me of the time when Sushma (Swaraj) asked in Parliament: ‘Are your MPs up for sale?’ Are your MLAs up for sale…? Do you not even have enough faith in your own leaders to trust that they won’t sell themselves?” Patra said, adding, “I feel that if this is the case, there ought to be some introspection as to what kind of people are in the party who can be bought.”
On Saturday, BJP Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson Sudhansu Trivedi slammed Abdullah, describing his charge as “extremely irresponsible and baseless”.
Trivedi also demanded that the J&K chief minister either provide “evidence” to substantiate his allegation or apologise.
J&K BJP spokesperson and MLA R S Pathania said if Abdullah does not apologise, the BJP will “file a defamation case against him for making misleading and unsubstantiated allegations intended to create confusion among the people”.
Trivedi further claimed Abdullah made such a “baseless” allegation just to deflect public attention from his government’s “incompetence, inaction and misgovernance” in J&K.
Speaking in the same vein, Pathania said, “Chief Minister Omar Abdullah should disclose the names of the MLAs who were allegedly offered money, identify the BJP leaders involved, and reveal when and where the alleged offers were made.
“If such a serious incident occurred, why was it not reported to the investigating agencies? An elected chief minister cannot make such allegations without placing evidence before the authorities,” he added
Pathania said the National Conference received a five-year mandate but was “exposed” within the first year itself for “failing” to honour its promises.
