Omar blames govt for sabotaging assembly polls as NC kick-starts poll campaign from south Kashmir

Kulgam, Mar 18: National Conference (NC) Vice President and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday blamed the government for sabotaging the conduct of concurrent parliamentary and Assembly polls.

“We wanted simultaneous elections, but the present dispensation of Jammu and Kashmir sabotaged it as it did not want to return power to the people,” Omar told reporters in DH Pora village of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district while launching the party’s poll campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

He, however, hoped that the Election Commission would hold the Assembly elections before September, as per the Supreme Court directions, and the region would get its own representative government. “The Election Commission has also made it clear that the polls will be conducted before time,” Omar said.

He said that the party would announce its candidate for the Anantnag - Rajouri constituency at an appropriate time.

He was joined by senior party leaders Mian Altaf and Sakina Itoo alongside several others. General Secretary Haji Ali Muhammad Sagar, Provincial President Nasir Aslam Wani, Senior Leaders Mian Altaf Ahmed, Justice (Retd) Hasnain Masoudi, State Spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar also addressed the gathering.

For quite some time, the rumours mills have been abuzz with speculations that Mian Altaf may contest the election from the Anantnag- Rajouri constituency. The presence of the leader during the launch of the party’s poll campaign lends credence to such rumours.

Replying to a question about the status of the Peoples Declaration for Gupkar Alliance (PAGD), Omar said that the alliance is intact and its members would be meeting soon. On the issue of CAA, Omar said that the law was not against the Muslims only there were other minorities who were also excluded.

Earlier addressing a public rally, the NC vice president said that it was the first political program of the party after the Election Commission sounded the election bugle. “It marks the beginning of the National Conference’s election campaign launched by Sakina Itoo from here,” Omar said.

He said that the upcoming election would not be an ordinary election as it would be the first major political exercise after the government snatched the special constitutional position of the region and arbitrarily re-mapped the territorial constituencies “This is an opportunity to send out a message not only to Delhi but to the entire world that we have not accepted the injustice that was done to us on August 5, 2019. We are ready to fight for our rights by using the power of vote”, Omar said. He said that they would defeat all those forces who snatched our identity, land and jobs.

NC leader said that for a railway project, authorities were issuing orders to acquire land, which included the land where our farmers had raised their apple orchards. “They are living off the land. We have no objection if they take the barren land for such projects,”, Omar said.

He said that Jammu and Kashmir had been without the Assembly elections for the last 10 years and the people were clueless about the laws being implemented in the region. Omar said that the Election Commission of India made it clear that all the political parties wanted to have simulations elections but the administration thwarted the move, citing the security reasons. He said that they were simultaneously boasting about normalcy and improved security , yet paradoxically stating inability to make the necessary security arrangements.

Launching a tirade against the BJP, Omar said that the party was pursuing the divide and rule policy by putting one community against another. He said that the party’s motive behind merging Rajouri and Anantnag seat was merely for electoral gains.