Kulgam, Apr 23: Former Chief Minister and Vice President of National Conference (NC), Omar Abdullah asserted on Tuesday that People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Mehbooba Mufti is receiving support from the Bharatiya Janata Party, citing the recent statement of BJP leader Syed Mushtaq Bukhari.
Omar made these remarks while addressing a rally in Kund in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district.
Bukhari urged members of the Pahari community to vote for Mehbooba Mufti in the ongoing Lok Sabha election. The Anantnag-Rajouri Parliamentary seat is going for polls on May 07 and the PDP President is among several political leaders who are fighting elections from there.
“We are very thankful to BJP for granting reservation to Paharis. The Narendra Modi-led government shaped our future and our 30 years of struggle paid off,” Bukhari told media persons.
However, he cautioned the community to remain vigilant from the nefarious designs of those who used the Pahari community for their political gains and appealed to them to vote for Mehbooba Mufti. “I think it is better to vote for Mehbooba Mufti as she is the only political leader who speaks for the Pahari community,” he said.
Omar questioned why the PDP candidate was targetting the NC more in her speeches rather than criticising the BJP, which he accused of bringing destruction to Jammu and Kashmir.
“I received an answer to my question yesterday and was surprised, although not entirely, as we knew what was brewing inside the PDP. I wasn’t sure if this would become clear to the public. I am thankful to Surunkot leader Mushtaq Bukhari, who openly stated that the BJP is supporting Mehbooba Mufti and that a similar transition is being followed as in 2014,” he said.
A similar thing happened in 2014 when the PDP urged people to vote against the BJP and in their favour. “Later, the party joined hands with the Saffron party. Now, the reality has come to light,” he said.
The former CM further said, “Altaf Bukhari, who now leads his own party, was a very close colleague of Mufti Sayeed and Mehbooba Mufti back then. Bukhari has also revealed that before the elections, Mufti and Narendra Modi had joined hands and promised to support each other. Now, in 2024, ten years later, their relations remain the same. It’s not just me saying this, but BJP’s senior leader Mushtaq Bukhari is also saying so… and now there’s nothing to hide,” he said, adding, “Now Mehbooba will go to Delhi and try to force Bukhari to change his statement, but changing the statement wouldn’t benefit anyone, and now the truth is in front of the people.”
Abdullah highlighted the plight of parents who can’t afford to travel to jails to meet their sons. He promised the people that after the parliamentary elections, when assembly elections would be held in August or September, every youth imprisoned in jails would have their cases reviewed, and the process of releasing them would begin. “The atmosphere of fear and threat would be dismantled,” he said.
The NC leader said people should not fall into the “trap of falsehoods” from the previous government, claiming they couldn’t accomplish anything. He cited the renovation of the Zirayat Sharif Kund, saying that the previous two MLAs failed to complete it. He promised the people of Kund that he would complete the renovation, where the NC government, during its rule, had left off.
Later in the afternoon, Omar addressed another rally at Dooru, where he told reporters that Mushtaq Bukhari’s statement has unequivocally revealed PDP’s alignment as the “C team” of BJP.
