LoP targets CM, accuses NC of misusing statehood debate
Srinagar, Oct 8: Leader of Opposition (LoP) in J&K Assembly Sunil Sharma launched a sharp attack on Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, accusing the National Conference (NC) of exploiting the statehood debate to divert public attention from its “tainted legacy of misgovernance, corruption, and civilian oppression.”
Addressing a news conference here, Sharma dismissed CM Omar’s renewed pitch for statehood as a “political stunt aimed at reviving a failed narrative.”
“Do you want statehood to become a tool to justify the killing of innocent Kashmiris?” he said, holding the NC responsible for some of the most turbulent years in J&K’s political history.
Highlighting the NC’s rule between 1982 and 2014, the LoP accused the party of presiding over a period marked by corruption, the use of draconian laws, and widespread human rights violations.
“Let’s not forget that statehood existed during the NC regime, and those were the years when the Public Safety Act (PSA) was weaponised against common people. Pellet guns, crackdowns, and curfews were the norm under Omar Abdullah’s watch,” he said.
Sharma said that schools remained shut for long periods during the NC rule, not because of militancy alone, but because “civilians and not terrorists were the targets of the State’s machinery.”
He said that people of J&K today reject any model of governance that “silences dissent and makes parents afraid to send their children to school.”
Contrasting the NC’s legacy with the BJP-led Centre’s governance model, the LoP lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for ushering in what he termed a “new age of peace, trust, and accountability.”
“Under PM Modi, not a single local youth has joined terrorism in years. This is not fear, but faith. People now believe in ballots, not bullets,” he said.
Sharma credited the PM Modi-led government with dismantling terror modules, restoring normalcy, and bridging the trust deficit between the people and the administration.
Refuting allegations of bureaucratic interference raised by CM Omar, he called them “baseless, politically motivated, and misleading.”
“Let me be very clear that in the past year alone, 97 cabinet decisions have been approved by LG Manoj Sinha’s office, including key initiatives like free electricity, employment schemes, and rural development. Yet, ironically, several crucial files remain stuck in CM Omar’s own office,” the LoP said.
He accused CM Omar of “twisting facts and history to build a false narrative” while ignoring the achievements of the current administration, which he said had brought more transparency, fewer security lockdowns, and growing public participation in democratic processes.
Sharma sent a strong message against political dynasties, saying that “a culture of entitlement has harmed Kashmir for decades.” “The era of dynastic politics, where a few families claimed ownership of J&K’s future, is over. People now want peace, development, and justice. And that’s exactly what PM Modi’s vision is delivering,” he said.
