Delhi CM’s arrest ‘blot’ on democracy: National Conference targets Centre

Srinagar, March 22

A day after the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the alleged excise policy scam, former J&K Chief Minister and NC senior leader Omar Abdullah today extended his party’s support to Kejriwal and AAP.

Game of arrests began in J&K

We had warned all political parties to be cautious as the process of arrests and hollowing out democracy, which began in J&K, would not remain confined to J&K alone. What happened to us — being detained, arbitrarily arrested, and witnessing the erosion of democracy — can now be seen happening in different parts of the country today. Omar Abdullah, former CM

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Omar took to X and wrote: “Aisi Taisi Democracy. For all the talk of 400 seats, the ruling dispensation is displaying a remarkable degree of nervousness. Having a sitting Opposition CM arrested by a pliable Central agency within days of the general elections being announced is a blot on democracy.” He said his party stood with Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party.

Talking to the media, Omar said his party had nothing to do with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). “We are here to defeat the BJP in Jammu and Kashmir. We will defeat them with heavy margins,” Omar said. “Whatever we have to face we will face. We have faced in the past we will face it in the future,” he added.

“We have constantly fought against what the BJP did to Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 2019. Unfortunately, those parties that supported the BJP at that time are today bearing the brunt of what the BJP did to us. At that time, we were detained. Those people who supported the BJP at that time, today they are detained. We always said what starts in Jammu and Kashmir has an impact in other parts of the country,” Omar said.

On August 5, 2019, when the government abrogated Article 370 and bifurcated Jammu and Kashmir into two states, thousands of people in Kashmir were detained. Among those thousands were three former Chief Ministers ?— Dr Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti.

However, at that time, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had supported the Centre’s move to scrap Article 370 of the Constitution, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

As the Union Home Minister Amit Shah moved the resolution in Parliament to revoke Article 370 and bifurcate the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two centrally-administered union territories, Kejriwal was the first to support it.

“We support the government on its decisions on J&K. We hope this will bring peace and development in the state,” Kejriwal tweeted soon after the resolution was moved in August 2019.

Omar today extended his party’s support to him and his party on after his arrest. “We had warned all political parties to be cautious, as the process of arrests and hollowing out democracy, which began in J&K, would not remain confined to J&K alone. Its impact would extend to other parts of the country. What happened to us — being detained, arbitrarily arrested, and witnessing the erosion of democracy — can now be seen in different parts of the country today,” Omar said.

About the forging of alliances of different parties in Kashmir, Omar said it is not new that alliances are being formed against the National Conference. He referred to the 1977 elections when his grandfather, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, was ill, and various parties, including religious ones, had allied against the National Conference.

“They all united to defeat Sheikh sahab (Sheikh Abdullah) while he was sick. He initiated his campaign from his sickbed and won comfortably. This time, a similar situation is being created. Parties from Delhi are being urged to unite against the National Conference. We will confront this challenge as we have done in the past,” he said.