Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was created to weaken National Conference after the party passed the autonomy resolution in the state assembly.

Abdullah said that the BJP-led government would not have dared to talk about Article 35 A or the Article 370 had the NC been in power.

“We would not even allow them to talk about Article 35A, if we would have been in the power,” he said while addressing workers at Nawa-e-Subh party headquarters.

He said some people don’t want that J&K should have their own flag or constitution. “They don’t like when we take oath on our own constitution. If there is an attack on Article 35 A, it is because NC is out of power,” he said.

Abdullah said that the party passed a resolution seeking Autonomy for the state of J&K. “It created commotion in the corridors of Government of India. They started seeing NC as a threat. This gave birth to the PDP,” Omar said, adding, the autonomy resolution was the reason behind creation of PDP.

The NC leader questioned the PDP BJP government for its complicity in jeopardizing states special status by ignoring the mutually agreed Agenda of Alliance (AoA).

 “With the way things are going on in our state, it becomes more and more evident that AoA doesn’t exist at all. They promised to revoke AFSPA, get power projects back to state, facilitate talks with all stakeholders, ensure that both India and Pakistan start a dialogue process but nothing happened in that regard. This government is turning out to be a monumental failure at every front. All in all this government has let down everybody including those who voted them to power,” he said.

“The whole politics of PDP BJP government is based on lies. Before 2014 elections, PDP and its leadership asked for votes to stop the BJP onslaught but later joined hands with the same party to form government. When Mehbooba Mufti took over the reins of this government, she went a step ahead and turned into a mute spectator while right wing forces continue to wage a relentless war on the states special status,” he said.

“When our government passed an autonomy resolution with a majority vote in the legislature in 2000, a vile campaign was started to sabotage our demand. PDP also came into existence for the same purpose which was to weaken states special status,” Omar maintained.     

“Since then every effort is being made to polarize the state of Jammu and Kashmir on the basis of region, religion, caste, creed. Polarization being fanned across the length and breadth of the state needs to be stopped before it engulfs our values and robs us of our rights, our sense of dignity and our special constitutional status,” Omar Abdullah said.

Urging people of the state to unite and fight such forces by making every state subject aware about the attempts being made to trample the constitutional guarantees available to the State, Omar Abdullah said, “Sher-i-Kashmir had predicted it long back that powers that reside in Delhi would make a leader in every nook and corner of the state. This is being done to put one region against another and one religion against another. What we are seeing right now is the physical manifestation of Sheikh Sbs words. We, irrespective of our religion, caste, regions or color, need to be cautious and defeat such forces by being united.”

On development front Omar Abdullah ridiculed the present dispensation on its inept handling of various issues “what happened to the money released under PMs package. We have schools which are running without teachers and other necessary staff and equipment. People are without water, power in many areas of the state. Hospitals are running short on medicines.”

Urging the National Conference cadre to generate awareness among the people about the adverse consequences of the abrogation of Article 35 A, Omar Abdullah said, “If Article 35A is repealed, we will traverse back to the unfortunate era of indignity, deprivation and oppression where Sher-i-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammed Abdulah had steered out the people of the State. It will cause enormous and irrevocable damage to the interests of the people of the three regions, irrespective of their caste and religion.”

Guest