E-Paper
Omar Abdullah fumes after Chhattisgarh CM links his release to Sachin Pilot
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel’s comment linking Omar Abdullah’s release from detention to Sachin Pilot has drawn a furious retort from the National Conference leader.
National Conference (NC) vice president, Omar Abdullah has threatened to sue Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel for linking his release from detention under the Public Safety Act to the political turmoil in Rajasthan and to rebel Congress leader Sachin Pilot in particular.
‘I am fed up of the downright malicious and false allegation that what Sachin Pilot is doing is somehow linked to my or my father’s release from detention earlier this year. Enough is enough. Mr @bhupeshbaghel will be hearing from my lawyers,’’ Omar, a former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister tweeted.
Baghel in an interview to The Hindu had said, “And as far as Sachin Pilot is concerned, not that I have been tracking the Rajasthan events so closely, but it does make one curious why Omar Abdullah was released? He and Mehbooba Muftiji were booked under the same Sections of the law, while she is still languishing, he is out. Is it because Mr. Abdullah is brother-in-law of Sachin Pilot?”
Following Omar’s threat, Baghel took to Twitter to say, “Please do not try to turn this tragic demise of democracy into an opportune moment Omar Abdullah ji. The ‘allegation’ was only a question asked, and we will keep asking it, as will the country.”
The NC leader dismissed Baghel’s comeback saying the Congress doesn’t know its friends from its opponents.
“You can send your answer to my lawyers. This is what is wrong with the Congress today, you don’t know your friends from your opponents. This is why you people are in the mess you are in. Your ‘question’ was malicious and will not go uncontested,” he said in another tweet.
The National Conference also condemned Baghel comments.
“The party has taken note of and expresses strong objection to an interview given by CM of Chhattisgarh Bhupesh Baghel wherein he had maliciously suggested that the release of our Vice President Omar Abdullah from preventive detention was somehow related to Sachin Pilot or the present political situation unraveling in Rajasthan,” the NC said in a statement.
‘’The party unequivocally rejects such malicious, false and politically motivated statements that are used for convenient political posturing,’’ the statement said.
This statement further said apart from being false and scurrilous the allegation is also defamatory to the reputation of Omar Abdullah.
‘’It is within the province of public knowledge that the release of Omar Abdullah happened after judicial intervention was sought from the Supreme Court and the illegal order of detention of Abdullah was challenged. Given the indefensible nature of the illegal detention order the same was revoked by the Government during the course of the proceedings before the Supreme Court,’’ the statement said.
Omar’s sister, Sarah Abdullah is married to Sachin Pilot. She had approached the Supreme Court in February and challenged her brother’s detention under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA) under which he was imprisoned.
Later, the government withdrew the Public Safety Act of Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah and they both were freed. Currently only one former chief minister, Mehbooba Mufti who is also the PDP president is detained under Public Safety Act.
