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Not allowed to attend Rajouri rally, escorted like criminal to my office: Omar
He said that NC leaders had organised a public rally at Sunderbani but that BJP was continuously trying to sabotage it
National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said that on the directions of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), police locked the gates of his house and he was escorted by a police officer to his office “like a criminal to prevent him from visiting Sunderbani in Rajouri where his party had organised a public rally.”
“This was the very successful & totally peaceful public meeting that the BJP conspired to stop me from attending. They used the police to prevent me from travelling to Sunderbani. The BJP can run but it can’t hide from reality. The truth is they don’t have the guts to face the people & are finding excuses to delay assembly elections in J&K. They are the true murderers of democracy,” Omar posted on “X” along with photographs of the public rally that was organised by other party leaders in his absence.
Later, talking to mediapersons at the party headquarters in Jammu, Omar said, “This has not happened for the first time and it won’t be for the last. This government has developed a habit…when they want to harass, they lock gates of houses. Till now, they did it in Kashmir, but ironically, this illness has now reached Jammu”.
He said that NC leaders had organised a public rally at Sunderbani but that BJP was continuously trying to sabotage it.
“On the false pretext of volatile situation in Rajouri and Poonch, police locked the gates of my house in Jammu. I have pictures of it. After I was not allowed to go to Sunderbani, a sub divisional police officer (SDPO) escorted me like a criminal to the party office,” he said.
Omar claimed that the democracy in J&K was being sabotaged. “For optics, democracy is here, but only for those who heap praise on government and BJP. People like us, who are not the stooges of the government, face hindrances and curbs,” he said.
Omar said that such incidents would increase as elections come closer. “As elections approach, I am confident that such acts by the government would see an upward trend,” he added.
He trashed the government’s false apprehensions that his visit may create trouble in Rajouri and Poonch, where Gujjars may resort to agitations against Scheduled Tribes (ST) status bill for Paharis.
“I never before felt so powerful. This government lacks courage and doesn’t have any ability. It is better for them to leave the government for people like us, who have the ability to command the trust of the people,” he said.
He said that the government needed to convince Gujjar and allay their fears that their reservation quota won’t be impacted by ST status to the Paharis.
On seat sharing with INDIA bloc partners, he said the Congress was ready to talk to the NC and discussions would be held soon, especially on three LS seats with BJP in power, Ladakh, Jammu and Udhampur. We will see what formula has to be devised to snatch maximum seats from the BJP.
The seats with us (NC) are INDIA bloc seats. The fight is not within the alliance, but it is to take seats back from the BJP, he added.
On the “delay” in assembly elections, he said that BJP doesn’t have the guts to hold them.
“The BJP did everything. They went for delimitation of the constituencies, revoked article 370, changed laws and reservations rules, built a temple, among others. But despite all this, they don’t have the courage to say that general elections and assembly polls can be held simultaneously. They can’t face the people”, he said.
