Anantnag, Apr 17: National Conference (NC) Vice President Omar Abdullah Wednesday said that while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership had hinted that it would not field candidates in Lok Sabha (LS) constituencies in Kashmir, actually the party was fighting the polls here together with the Apni Party and Peoples Conference (PC).
Talking to media persons after an election rally at Larnoo in Kokernag, he said, “Home Minister Sahab has hinted that perhaps BJP will not field its candidates for the three Lok Sabha seats in Kashmir saying they will wait for the lotus (BJP’s election symbol) to bloom here. They had not waited for it to bloom in 2019 when they fielded candidates in all three constituencies here. They were defeated.
Now they are saying that they will wait. Actually, BJP, Apni Party, and PC are fighting polls together. This also became clear when BJP leader Tarun Chugh visited the residence of Apni Party President Altaf Bukhari, where PC President Sajad Lone was also called for a meeting.”
Omar criticised the BJP for perpetuating a false development narrative in J&K.
“If BJP’s claims about development and prosperity are true then I don’t understand why the party has not fielded its candidate from Kashmir,” he said. “I want to ask the BJP if people are so content with its policies why it was forced to support a third party.”
Omar castigated the BJP leaders for claims that J&K has witnessed a new era of development during their rule.
“We don’t delve into listing every achievement of NC. We would like to remind him that J&K is the only state that implemented land reforms, where people got land ownership rights free of cost,” he said.
Omar said that despite the turbulent years J&K endured, nobody in the region died of hunger.
“It was possible only because of Article 370,” he said.
Appealing to the people to vote for the NC candidate, Mian Altaf, in the upcoming polls, Omar said that the Anantnag-Rajouri constituency was unique, with an electorate spanning both sides of the Pir Panjal range.
“In such circumstances, Altaf Sahab stands as a sole candidate, capable of representing people from both sides,” he said.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the rally, Mian Altaf, the Lok Sabha candidate for the Anantnag-Rajouri seat, said that they were receiving an overwhelming response from the people.
Altaf said that he was very hopeful that the NC would register a win in all three Lok Sabha seats of Kashmir.