Meddling in J&K politics not Guv’s job, says Omar

Suhail A Shah

Kulgam, January 15

Raising pitch for early elections in J&K, former Chief Minister and vice-president of the National Conference (NC) Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said it was not the Governor’s job to meddle in state politics.

“We will do the politics. It’s not the job of the Governor to meddle in the politics of Jammu and Kashmir,” Omar said, while addressing a gathering of party workers in Kulgam.

Omar was referring to the recently held local bodies and panchayat elections, where he said every decision was taken while being out of the public eye.

“Nobody knows who was elected and how. Everything was done from police camps,” Omar said. “This is why we are asking Governor (sahib), for god’s sake, hand back the people their government,” said Omar.

He said these decisions taken in the dark were not in favour of the people of Kashmir.

“The only responsibility of the Governor and his government is to make the atmosphere of Jammu and Kashmir conducive, so that the elections are held at the earliest,” Omar said.

The meeting was the second such in south Kashmir by the National Conference in the last few days. Earlier, party president Farooq Abdullah had attended a workers’ meet in Anantnag.

Omar alleged that some people, including BJP workers and their friends in Kashmir, were going door-to-door in New Delhi “to get the elections deferred in Jammu and Kashmir”.

“They are afraid they will lose the elections. We have been reiterating that the Governor should make things conducive, so that the elections are held and we are given a chance to go before the people again,” said Omar.

During his long speech, Omar also took a dig at former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti for apologising for her “toffee and milk” remark.

“Had she apologised in 2016 or 2017 or even 2018 while she was in power, I would have understood. But now that she is not the chief minister and her party is falling apart, she suddenly remembers that she needs to apologise for her remarks,” he said.

Omar, following his speech, also interacted with media persons, where he reiterated his father Farooq Abdullah’s remarks about not supporting Army’s Operation All-out in the Valley if elected to power. “We want no such operation that targets the general public of Kashmir,” Omar said.