'370 Is Emotional Issue For Us But Political For Prime Minister: Omar Abdullah Hits Out At PM Modi

Omar Abdullah launched an attack on PM Modi and said he did not utter a single word on the restoration of the statehood of Jammu And Kashmir.

Srinagar: Former PDP MLA Javed Baig joined the National Conference on Friday. While welcoming him, party vice president and former Chief Minister of Jammu And Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in the valley on Thursday.

Omar said that he had hoped that the PM's visit would signal the restoration of democracy in Jammu, but nothing of the sort was seen. Not a single word regarding the restoration of democracy in Jammu and Kashmir came out of the PM's rally.

Omar added, “Nothing new came from the PM’s visit. There was no mention of the restoration of democracy, statehood, elections, employment, or other local issues. The PM remained silent and continued to speak the same old language of 'Parivarvaad'."

Omar further stated, “Article 370 is an emotional issue for us, but for the Prime Minister, it is political. Why is the PM selling movie tickets? I have never been in favor of personal slogans, and such slogans have caused more harm. Voters are interested in issues related to them, not in family or other issues, and Modi has exploited this issue very well.”

National Conference's Alliance Equation For LS Polls

Regarding alliance with other parties in the Lok Sabha elections, Omar, on not accommodating PDP in seat sharing, said, "How can we give seats to a party which was in third position in the last elections? Maintaining the alliance is not only the mandate of the National Conference but also of others."

“We did not keep the PDP away from the alliance, but from the ground reality. How can we give the Anantnag seat to the PDP, which stood third in the last elections? PDP has been targeting NC and talking about alliance. We cannot forget that,” he added. “Doors are open for PDP in Assembly elections but there is no scope for Parliament elections,” he concluded.

Talks have been held with Congress on Lok Sabha seat sharing. “We have reached an agreement with Congress on one seat in Jammu and one seat in Ladakh. And we are also ready to leave the Anantnag seat for Congress, and if Sonia, Rahul, or Priyanka had contested the elections, we would have left that too.”

However, Omar did not speak openly on whether he would contest the elections or from which seat he would contest. He said, “I have no idea from where I will contest the elections or whether the party will field me or not.”