The state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lashed out at chief minister Omar Abdullah on Monday, a day after he questioned the Centre's move to call off dialogue with Pakistan.
"Omar is playing to the galleries ahead of the assembly elections. He knows his report card on the performance front is zero. He is indulging in rhetoric to gain sympathy," said BJP Kashmir spokesman Khalid Jehangir.
Speaking on the cancellation of talks on Sunday in New Delhi, Omar had said, "It basically just demoralises the people, because at the end of the day we only see a solution emerging out of dialogue. We had 25 years of violence, we had wars, we had skirmishes, but we haven't seen a solution."
Retorting to the chief minister's statement, Jehangir said, "Omar should focus on local issues rather than poking his nose in the foreign policy of the country."
He accused the chief minister of "diverting the attention of people by raising non-issues from his dismal performance."
The BJP also alleged that Abdullah was "trying to appease the separatists ahead of polls to get the political mileage".
"The new government led by Narendra Modi took a bold decision by calling off the talks with Pakistan and everyone has appreciated it," he said.
He also criticised Omar for taking a dig at the BJP's ambitious slogan of 44-plus. "The BJP is emerging as a strong alternative for the people in Jammu and Kashmir. The party's growing popularity and increasing influence in Kashmir has unnerved Omar. He knows that the days of the government are numbered, that's why he is talking about Bollywood glitz."
{{/usCountry}}He also criticised Omar for taking a dig at the BJP's ambitious slogan of 44-plus. "The BJP is emerging as a strong alternative for the people in Jammu and Kashmir. The party's growing popularity and increasing influence in Kashmir has unnerved Omar. He knows that the days of the government are numbered, that's why he is talking about Bollywood glitz."
{{/usCountry}}India cancelled the foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan on August 19 in the wake of Pakistan's envoy meeting separatists for "consultations."