NC suffered the worst due to militancy, but never supported separatism: Omar

Our Correspondent

Srinagar, May 8

While stating that he was fighting “New Delhi’s power” during the elections in Kashmir, former Chief Minister and NC vice-president Omar Abdullah today said J&K had changed for the worst, as militancy had now taken root in those areas that were once free from it. He added that militancy had started emerging in those areas, which were free from the militancy when he was in the government.

“Militancy has now revived in those areas which we had made peaceful and militancy-free. This is being seen in the form of target killings in Srinagar or targeting security forces in the Rajouri-Poonch belt. There is no stability anywhere in J&K, instead, devastation has been added manifold,” Omar said while talking to reporters in Kupwara.

Earlier, addressing a rally, Omar said the administration was creating hurdles in his campaign. “I am not fighting against an individual, I am fighting New Delhi’s power in Kashmir. After the security forces, NC is the biggest victim of militancy. So many NC workers were killed by militants. So many of my colleagues in the National Conference were assassinated,” Omar said.

He added that suffering the worst due to militancy, the NC never changed its stance and never supported militancy. “They are asking us what we’ve done for the past 70 years. The NC has liberated Kashmiris from economic enslavement,” Omar said, referring to the land reforms initiated by the NC founder and his grandfather, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah.

Omar said Sheikh Abdullah and the NC had also paved way for political liberation. “In these times, the BJP are pushing us towards economic and political enslavement. Our land is in danger, our employment is in danger and so is our future. If you visit any office today you will not find any Kashmiri,” Omar added.

Launching an attack on Peoples Conference candidate Sajad Gani Lone, Omar said he was surprised to notice that not a single poster of his father Abdul Gani Lone had been put up. He said: “If he doesn’t respect his father, how will he respect you?”

He added that Lone was allying with the BJP to weaken the NC. He accused Lone of helping the Delimitation Commission in the latter’s gerrymandering to weaken the NC vote bank.

Lone allying with BJP to weaken NC

Sajad Gani Lone is allying with the BJP to weaken the NC. He helped the Delimitation Commission in its gerrymandering to weaken the NC vote bank. — Omar Abdullah, NC vice-president

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