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Lal Singh can’t use yatra to whitewash his past: Omar
National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah comments came a day after Congress spokesperson Deepika Pushkar Nath resigned from the party for allowing Lal Singh to be a part of the yatra
National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said that former minister Lal Singh cannot use Bharat Jodo Yatra to “whitewash his communal record” in the Kathua rape case.
Lal Singh had left the Congress and joined the BJP before forming his own political party. He had taken out a rally in 2018 in support of the culprits involved in the Kathua rape case.
“They tried to save the rapists and put blame on the victim. If record of assembly are taken out today, everything will be open,” he added.
His comments came a day after Congress spokesperson Deepika Pushkar Nath resigned from the party for allowing Lal Singh to be a part of the yatra. Nath, as a lawyer, had represented the victim’s family.
Omar said that now, the same leader will try to use the Bharat Jodo Yatra to portray himself as secular. “This is a big lie. The Congress leaders should see who all are joining the yatra and check their recent track record,” he added.
Lal Singh had also remained a member of parliament besides being a minister. In 2014, he had resigned from the Congress and joined the BJP. He was a minister in the PDP-BJP coalition government in J&K, which collapsed in 2018 when the BJP withdrew its support.
Lal Singh then resigned from the BJP and formed his own party, Dogra Swabhiman Sangathan Party. He had defended his participation in the rally stating that he was there to “defuse the situation”.
As per sources, there is no possibility that Lal Singh could rejoin the Congress. Many leaders have objected to his participation in the yatra once it enters Kathua district.
On Thursday, the Bharat Jodo Yatra will enter Jammu and Kashmir in its last leg, which will culminate in Srinagar with a mega rally on January 30.
Will continue to work on the ground, says ex-J&K Congress spokesperson
A day after resigning from the post of spokesperson of the J&K Congress, prominent advocate and political activist Deepika Pushkar Nath on Wednesday said that she will continue to work on the ground.
Nath said she is not interested in joining any political party as of now.
“Around 10 days ago, I had conveyed to the party high command and senior leaders about Choudhary Lal Singh, who had rallied behind the rapists and murderers of the eight-year-old girl in 2018, but the party didn’t bother to respond to my concerns. Party leader Jairam Ramesh refused to comment on the issue and reportedly said that I am not a leader of the Congress,” Nath said.
She said Lal Singh was responsible for sabotaging the 2018 Kathua rape case by “brazenly defending” rapists of the eight-year-old nomadic girl.
“In view of Ch Lal Singh’s proposal of joining @bharatjodo & @INCJammuKashmir allowing the same, I am left with no other option but to resign from @INCIndia. Lal Singh was responsible in sabotaging the Kathua rape case in 2018 by brazenly defending rapists (sic),” she tweeted on January 17.
“Lal Singh divided the entire region of Jammu & Kashmir to protect the rapists and @bharatjodo is ideologically opposite. On ideological grounds, I cannot share the party platform with such a person,” Nath further wrote on Twitter.
