Omar bad in Mathematics: Nadda

Jammu, Sep 27: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President and Union Minister for Health J P Nadda Friday hit back at National Conference (NC) Vice President Omar Abdullah over his statement blaming the Centre for ‘lower voter turnout’ in the second phase of Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls.

Addressing a news conference, Nadda said, “If one wants to see the poll percentage, it used to be 6 to 8 per cent but today it is 58 to 60 per cent. If he was bad in mathematics, what could I do? There was 60 per cent voting in the first phase and 58 per cent in the second phase.”

On Thursday, Abdullah said that the Centre was ‘partially responsible’ for the ‘lower voter turnout’.

“I was hoping for a little more turnout. Because there was no call for the boycott. There were no attacks. There was no attempt to suppress and threaten the voters. But I think the central government is also partially responsible for this situation. They have tried to present high turnout as a sign of normalcy at different places,” he said.

Nadda said that J&K youth were abdicating violence, turning away from terrorism and opting for peace and development, post Article 370.

“However, while youth renounced terrorism, Congress, National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were trying to push J&K again to the vortex of violence, furthering Pakistan’s agenda,” he said.

Nadda said that before the abrogation of Article 370, 300-400 local youth used to join terror ranks. “However, post Art 370 saw a significant dip in this trend in Kashmir, particularly in Srinagar. During the last nine months, there were only four local youth, who were identified as terrorists. This data is a positive indicator, suggesting a welcome transformation,” he said.

Nadda stated that two successful and peaceful phases of the elections in Jammu and Kashmir reflected the affection, trust and support of the people for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his policies.

“In contrast to previous elections, there was no violence, no booth capturing, no firing, and no terrorist incidents during this election. Ambassadors from 16 countries visited and watched the people enthusiastically and peacefully participating in the democratic process. This is a historic occasion as the people of Jammu and Kashmir have opted for the ballot and given a befitting reply to the bullet,” BJP President said.

He stated it was nauseating that while the youth rejected terrorism, the opposition parties viz., National Conference, Indian National Congress, or PDP were “supporting and encouraging those activists who work against the country.”

“NC’s manifesto claims that they will release terrorists from jail and Congress is supporting them. They have also stated their intention to restart LoC trade. The NC manifesto clearly supports talks with Pakistan. Infact, NC, Congress are ‘certified Pak representatives’ in J&K, furthering its agenda and trying to revive terrorism. None but the Pak Defence Minister has certified these parties,” he reiterated.

Nadda said that the NC and Congress alliance was actually a “deal between two political families to further their agenda.”

“They have nothing to do with the people of Jammu and have always held a negative stance towards the region. Only the BJP has genuinely cared for Jammu, ensuring peace and regional balance. The NC and Congress alliance has always supported regional imbalance and has never been serious about addressing the needs of Jammu,” he said.

Taking a dig at Congress-NC combine, Nadda stated that those who shed crocodile tears, made false promises and played with people's sentiments, had become champions of democracy and were talking of statehood.

He said that Rahul Gandhi or NC could not give statehood as they were not empowered or authorised to do so and they were not befooling people.

“When the Union Home Minister abrogated Article 370, he mentioned in Parliament that statehood would be provided to J&K. The NC and Congress lie continuously about providing statehood to the region, they lack the power and authority to do so, yet they have included it in their manifesto. Either they are completely unaware of the constitutional position, or they are trying to betray the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Statehood can only be granted by the central cabinet and the central government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said.

“Prime Minister has clearly stated that statehood will be provided by the Central government, but it cannot be granted by the NC and Congress,” he said.

Nadda stated that the National Conference and Congress recently started talking about development, but these parties never paid attention to the Shahpur-Kandi area of Jammu. “The NDA government declared the Shahpur-Kandi project as a national project, and it is now in its final stages. This project will facilitate easy access to water in the most remote areas of Jammu and Kashmir. In the Jammu region, five major hydro projects are also nearing completion,” he said.

BJP National President alleged that the NC and Congress always ignored the Jammu region. “AIIMS, IIM, IIT, and IIMC are the nation's pioneer institutions. If Awantipora has received an AIIMS, then Jammu has also been granted one. This is what the BJP means by regional balance. The Chenab bridge was sanctioned by late Atal Behari Vajpayee, but the UPA government halted its progress for 10 years. After Narendra Modi assumed power, work was restarted and today it stands as Asia's tallest bridge, a source of pride for Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

Nadda said that during his visit to various regions of the state with the current Jammu and Kashmir BJP Working President Sat Sharma, he was surprised to learn that the hill, tribal and Gujjar communities were not given reservations. At that time, the people of the Valmiki community in Jammu and Kashmir were limited to becoming sanitation workers. The Valmiki community members were unable to pursue education or obtain any government jobs. When the BJP government started granting ST status to the Pahari and Padri communities, the National Conference and Congress worked to incite conflict among the people and divide society.

“The people trusted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the reservation for the Gujjar-Bakarwal community was not reduced, the Pahari community was also included in it,” he said.

“For the first time since the abrogation of Article 370, members of the ST community are contesting elections from reserved seats, refugees from Pakistan have been granted the right to vote, and the number of seats has increased from 36 to 43. Congress party and its leaders have wounded Dogra sentiments by asserting they ended the rule of Maharajas. It (Congress) is accountable for implementation of Article 370 and the delayed annexation of Jammu and Kashmir which has obstructed the region's development,” he said.

BJP Jammu and Kashmir In-charges G Kishan Reddy and Tarun Chugh besides other senior leaders were also present in the presser.

Later, while addressing an election rally in Kathua, Nadda said that with the blessings of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, a Bharatiya Janata Party government would be formed. “Congress, National Conference and PDP have consistently deceived and misled the people of Jammu and Kashmir, whereas the BJP has always supported and stood by them. They have only one aim to safeguard and advance their own families, while PM Modi’s aim is to empower the people of Jammu and Kashmir and sideline these family-centric parties,” he said.

Nadda alleged that the policies of these parties handed stones and guns to the youth of Jammu and Kashmir, “But today they hold laptops and are contributing to the progress of the nation. There is no atmosphere of fear or terror anywhere in Jammu and Kashmir; there are no shooting incidents or acts of terrorism. Voter turnout is also breaking records. Abrogation of Article 370 has proven to be a blessing for Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.