CM Omar Abdullah faces criticism over poll promises within two months of govt formation
Amid the Centre’s delay in defining the powers of the Chief Minister in the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP has joined other Kashmir-based parties in criticizing Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for failing to implement his party’s poll promises.
Just two months into the National Conference (NC) government led by Omar Abdullah, opposition parties have begun targeting him for not fulfilling election commitments.
The J&K unit of the BJP has demanded that Omar deliver on promises such as providing free electricity and subsidised LPG to households. The BJP accused the NC of misleading voters with false promises to win the Assembly elections. “Even after two months, the NC government has miserably failed to live up to its promises,” BJP spokesperson Purnima Sharma stated.
Kashmir-centric parties have also raised concerns over the NC’s failure to address key issues such as restoring special status and releasing political prisoners. However, both issues lie outside the Chief Minister’s purview. Article 370 was abrogated by Parliament, while decisions regarding the release of political prisoners rest with Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, who controls the police and prison departments.
Omar Abdullah himself reportedly described the dual governance model in J&K as a “recipe for disaster.”
Adding to the pressure, opposition parties accused the NC of diluting its recent resolution in the Assembly. The resolution called for restoring J&K’s special status but omitted any reference to Article 370.
On Saturday, while addressing the general council of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), party chief Mehbooba Mufti criticised the ruling NC for inaction on key issues, despite holding a significant number of seats. She asserted that the PDP would lead efforts to restore J&K’s special status, statehood, and secure the release of political prisoners.
Meanwhile, Omar Abdullah also faced criticism for remarks made by him and his party colleagues regarding the restoration of the ‘Darbar Move’ — the seasonal shifting of offices between Jammu and Srinagar.
Former Srinagar Municipal Corporation Mayor Junaid Azim Mattu, who lost to an NC candidate in the Assembly elections from the Zadibal constituency, criticized Omar’s stance. In a statement on X, he remarked, “To link the Darbar Move with regional balance is foolish. If anything, it fosters regional imbalance in each region for six months. It’s an archaic, unimaginative, and financially wasteful exercise. A young CM should be more transformative and less traditional.”