Srinagar: Leader of Opposition in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, Sunil Sharma, on Thursday alleged that the Abdullah family wants statehood for imposing the Public Safety Act (PSA) and open firing on youth.
Speaking to reporters in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, Sharma said people of Jammu and Kashmir are not concerned about the restoration of statehood, and that only the Abdullah family wants it “to bring back their lost kingdom”.
“They want to hold the stick, they want the power to impose PSA, they want the authority to fire bullets at the chests of youth — that is the kind of statehood the Abdullah family wants. That is the statehood they are looking for. Otherwise, no one else is concerned about statehood,” the BJP leader said.
Sharma asked Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to stop acting as a “spokesperson” for Ladakh, and instead prioritise resolving the issues confronting the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
“Abdullah should stop being a spokesperson for Ladakh. He is the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir… where people are currently in distress today, he is once again playing the role of acting like a ‘big brother’.
“It was during their government that the people of Ladakh had said they did not want to remain with them. Today, once again, he is showing sympathy for Ladakh. First, solve the problems of the people here,” he said.
Sharma’s remarks came a day after Chief Minister Abdullah advised the leadership of Ladakh not to rely on the Centre’s verbal assurances regarding their struggle for constitutional safeguards with regard to land and jobs.
On the upcoming assembly session, the BJP leader said that while the party has no interest in cornering anyone or in making noise, “we cannot just leave the people at God’s mercy like this”
“People have pain and suffering, people have difficulties, people have issues. How can we stay silent? After all, we are in the opposition; we have also been sent to the House with 29 MLAs. We won’t go there just for a salary. Look at the distress people are in,” he said.
The LoP said that whenever someone approaches the government for redressal of his issues, there is only one response: ‘we do not have the authority, we do not have the powers’.
“At the very least, we will fix their accountability and hold them answerable. Let them answer. They made very big claims. Earlier, they used to peddle talks in the name of separatism, in the name of Pakistan, that won’t work anymore. Now, they will have to answer on development, on actual work. And for this, the BJP is ready to fight every possible battle,” he asserted.
Calling the Speaker of the assembly, Abdul Rahim Rather, “biased”, Sharma said the issues of the people cannot be addressed in six days.
“I called him biased because, look, there are 90 MLAs, 90 constituencies. Tell me, electricity, water, roads, schools, staff, daily wagers, NHM — can you address so many issues in just six days? So, he is working to protect the government; that is why I am calling him biased,” Sharma said.
Accusing the Speaker of shielding the government, the BJP leader said a 30-day session of the assembly should be held.
“There should be a debate every day, a debate on each issue. All MLAs should speak, and then the government should take a decision. Now, in five days, you want to hide the government, so he is biased,” he added.
