Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah launched a sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during the National Conference’s (NC) ‘Chalo Delhi’ rally in Jammu on Sunday, defending his party’s right to protest for the restoration of statehood.
Responding to the BJP’s criticism of the NC’s planned demonstration at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, Abdullah questioned where else citizens should voice their grievances if not in the nation’s capital. “Should we go to President Trump’s White House in America to seek our statehood? If we cannot get justice in our own country’s capital, then tell us where we should go,” he asked, urging the ruling party to clarify where statehood demands ought to be raised if protests near Parliament are deemed unacceptable.
Abdullah also countered the BJP’s objections to the inclusion of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Kashmiri in the protest. Pointing out the contradiction in the BJP’s rhetoric, he noted that while Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah frequently claim separatism has been eradicated from Jammu and Kashmir, sections of the media and the BJP still label Farooq a separatist. “Both cannot be true at the same time,” Abdullah stated. “Either separatism has ended in Kashmir, as the BJP claims, or the person you call a separatist proves those claims wrong.”
Turning to local political tensions, the Chief Minister accused the BJP of attempting to split the National Conference through “Operation Lotus.” His remarks follow recent allegations from the NC that BJP leadership offered Rs 20 to Rs 30 crore to NC MLAs to defect—claims that the BJP has strongly denied and labeled as misleading.
Abdullah concluded by accusing the BJP of systematically dismantling opposition parties across India prior to elections, citing political upheavals in Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Punjab. He asserted that when the BJP fails to win elections, it resorts to backdoor politics, reaffirming that the National Conference remains committed to a democratic struggle until the Centre fulfills its promise to restore Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.
