News Analysis India

Tag: Omar Abdullah

  • BJP plotting to pass resolution in favour of Article 370 revocation in J&K Assembly after polls: Omar 

    Express News Service

    SRINAGAR: Former J&K Chief Minister and National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah on Thursday said BJP would make an attempt to pass a resolution in favour of Article 370 revocation in the J&K Assembly after the elections to tell the world that people of J&K are satisfied with the August 5, 2019 decisions.  

    “BJP would make an attempt to pass a resolution in favour of Article 370 revocation in J&K Assembly after the elections to tell the world and the country that people of J&K are satisfied with the August 5, 2019 decisions. They want to wipe out the early resolution passed by J&K Assembly in 2000 seeking greater autonomy for J&K,” Omar said while addressing party workers in north Kashmir’s Bandipora.

    “They want to pass the resolution so that they can tell the world that J&K don’t want any change in it,” he said.

    On August 5, 2019, the Centre scrapped J&K’s special status and bifurcated the J&K state into two Union Territories — J&K (with legislature) and Ladakh (without legislature).

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    “After they (BJP) pass the resolution in favour of Article 370 revocation in J&K Assembly, they would then approach the Supreme Court and tell the apex court that people challenging Article 370 revocation are telling lies and J&K people are very happy with the decision,” Omar said.

    The SC would tell them (BJP) how they knew it and the BJP would show the resolution passed by the J&K Assembly in favour of Art 370 revocation, Abdullah said. “Then the SC will be left with no option but to dismiss petitions challenging Article 370 revocation and won’t do anything against the August 5, 209 decision”.

    According to Abdullah, pleas challenging Article 370 revocation and bifurcation of J&K state were not being heard “because we have got a strong case.

    The BJP knows well that they cannot get many seats in Kashmir and without getting seats from the Valley, the resolution cannot be passed in J&K Assembly. “In order to create a division of votes in Kashmir, it has propped up many parties. However, to thwart this plot, the Gupkar Alliance was formed,” he said.

    The former CM said DDC the elections were held to break the Gupkar Alliance. “The alliance got more seats and proved that people of Kashmir and Jammu are not in favour of August 5, 2019 decisions.”

    Peoples Conference had pulled out from the seven-party alliance after the DDC polls while the head of another party — J&K Peoples Movement — has joined the Apni Party of Altaf Bukhari.

  • BJP creating new political parties in J&K to ensure majority in legislative assembly: Omar Abdullah

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Thursday claimed that the BJP was creating new political parties in the Valley to ensure a majority in the legislative assembly for passing a resolution in favour of the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and its bifurcation into union territories.

    He said the saffron party knew it that it will fall short of the majority in the House on its own whenever elections are held.

    “They want to use a majority in the assembly to bring a resolution that will undo the earlier resolution. Then they will go to the Supreme Court and tell it that the case filed (by NC Lok Sabha members) against abrogation (of Article 370) is false as people are satisfied. The Supreme Court will have no option but to throw out the case,” Abdullah said.

    “The BJP knows it won’t get any seats from Kashmir….That’s why new parties are being created to shore up a majority. The PAGD was formed to ensure that the BJP does not get a majority,” he added.

    Abdullah was addressing a party convention in Bandipora district in north Kashmir.

    He said District Development Council elections were announced with the aim to break the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD).

    “They thought either the alliance will break over seat-sharing or it will lose elections. Neither of the two happened. In fact, the alliance won the maximum number of seats. It proved that people from Kashmir and Jammu were not with the decision taken in August 2019.”

    “Then some alliance constituents were separated from it on one pretext of the other. Some way or the other, they want to prove that people are with the decision of August 5,” the NC leader said.

    He claimed that the efforts of the BJP are now focussed on showing to the world, through the legislative assembly, that the decisions of August 5, 2019, are acceptable to people of Jammu and Kashmir.

    “In 2000, J-K Assembly passed an important resolution. By virtue of that resolution, J-K Assembly had sought restoration of internal autonomy. That resolution is still part of the assembly record. Nothing has come to change that. Just like a resolution was passed in Parliament with regard to Jammu and Kashmir. Whenever there is talk about J-K, the members of Parliament say entire Jammu and Kashmir belongs to India and it is the job of the government to implement the resolution. On the same lines, the resolution of Assembly is binding on all governments,” Abdullah said.

    He said the BJP is actively pursuing the resolution route to erase the previous resolution passed by the assembly 21 years ago.

    “They know our case in the Supreme Court is strong. Had our case been weak, the hearings would have been held much earlier. That’s why they want to pass the resolution in the assembly,” he added.

  • Long live ‘debate-less’ parliamentary democracy: Chidambaram, Omar’s dig at government

    The farm bills were passed without a debate when the two sides did not agree and they were repealed without a debate when the two sides agreed, Chidambaram said.

  • NC seeks to expedite probe into Hyderpora encounter, rehabilitation of kin of those killed

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: The National Conference (NC) on Sunday sought to expedite the probe into the Hyderpora encounter in a transparent manner and the rehabilitation of the kin of those slain on a fast-track basis.

    An NC delegation led by its provincial president, Kashmir, Nasir Aslam Wani visited the families of deceased civilians Altaf Ahmed Dar and Mudassir Gul.

    Sharing the grief of the families, the delegation prayed for strength to them in their hour of loss and for eternal peace to the departed in the highest echelons of heaven.

    Wani also sought fast-tracking of the probe into the killings in a transparent manner and rehabilitation of the kin of the deceased on a fast-track basis.

    “The jinxed fate of our valley has snatched numerous innocents. There are several such untold stories where parents have lost their beloved children, daughters and sisters have lost their brothers, mothers their sons. Such incidents only leave a trail of suffering behind,” he said.

    The NC leader extended condolences and sympathies to the bereaved families on behalf of party president Farooq Abdullah and vice president Omar Abdullah to the bereaved.

  • Hyderpora encounter: Omar Abdullah, People’s Conference stage sit-in; demand return of bodies

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Thursday staged a sit-in demanding the return of bodies of civilians killed in the Hyderpora encounter in Jammu and Kashmir.

    “We are sitting here peacefully. If we wanted, we would have blocked roads, bridges, but no. There has been no sloganeering, no law and order disturbance and no road has been blocked. We are not raising voice against the government, we just demand that the bodies be returned,” he told reporters at the Municipal Park here.

    A controversy had erupted over the encounter held on Monday in Srinagar following conflicting claims about the two deceased civilians as their family members contested the police’s charge that they were “terror associates”, prompting demands by various parties for an impartial probe.

    Omar said despite the police admitting that the civilian was killed in crossfire, his body was not given to the family, but buried in Handwara.

    “We heard this morning that the families were called to PCR and we were hopeful that after Farooq Abdullah talked to LG, there will be some development in it, so we waited. We kept waiting in our office from 11 am thinking that something will be done, but they (families) were told to wait for two to three days,” he said.

    The NC leader said he wanted Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to assure the families that Justice will be done.

    The People’s Conference led by Sajad Lone also took out a protest march here, demanding the return of bodies of the civilians killed in Hyderpora encounter and a judicial probe by a serving High Court judge into the incident.

    Senior vice president of the party Abdul Gani Vakil along with dozens of workers joined the protest held near M A Road here.

    Vakil said the Hyderpora encounter is “strife with doubts” when seen with perception of neutrality and “it is only after an impartial or neutral probe that the recent turn of events would be justly perceivable to every citizen of this country beyond a reasonable doubt”.

  • Omar, Mehbooba express strong objection to using community halls as security barracks in J-K

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah on Saturday said the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir had “regressed” to such an extent that community halls built during his tenure as chief minister of the erstwhile state were being used as barracks for security forces.

    “My Government built community/marriage halls & demolished bunkers in Srinagar. It’s disappointing to see the security situation in the city has now regressed so far that new bunkers are being constructed & the marriage halls are being used as barracks for security forces,” he wrote on Twitter.

    My Government built community/marriage halls & demolished bunkers in Srinagar. It’s disappointing to see the security situation in the city has now regressed so far that new bunkers have are being constructed & the marriage halls are being used as barracks for security forces.
    — Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) November 6, 2021
    His remarks came after reports of a few community halls or marriage halls being taken over by the CRPF here.

    The security forces’ presence has been strengthened in Srinagar following a recent spike in militant attacks.

    Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti also lashed out at the government over the move, and said every day more draconian laws are brought in with the sole purpose of suffocating people into silence.

    “After placing security bunkers at every nook & corner of Srinagar, CRPF personnel have been pushed into marriage halls which is the only private space left for people here. Every day more draconian laws are brought in with the sole purpose of suffocating people into silence,” she tweeted.

    After placing security bunkers at every nook & corner of Srinagar, CRPF personnel have been pushed into marriage halls which is the only private space left for people here. Every day more draconian laws are brought in with the sole purpose of suffocating people into silence. https://t.co/INmx3IoS7Q
    — Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) November 6, 2021
    Meanwhile, Srinagar mayor Junaid Azim Mattu raised the issue with the divisional administration for exploring alternative options for housing the security personnel.

    He said the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) was not consulted on the issue.

    “Have spoken to Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Pole Sb regarding the issue of SMC Community Halls being made available to the CRPF…SMC wasn’t consulted on this decision,” he tweeted.

    Mattu noted that community halls are integral to social and community functions, and are constructed in areas where people do not have huge houses and lawns.

    “They, hence, are a community necessity. A lot of money has been spent on their construction, upkeep and maintenance,” he said.

    The mayor said the Kashmir divisional commissioner has assured him that “alternative options will be explored”.

    “I have strongly urged for this. It is very important that community facilitation services are not hampered. It would be a huge inconvenience to people and also stigmatise law and order measures,” he said.

    Mattu maintained that CRPF personnel deployed in Srinagar should have decent and appropriate housing facilities, but community halls should be left for community services.

    “This is not a political issue – and should not be distorted as such,” he added.

    Public Relation Officer (PRO), CRPF, Abhiram Pankaj said additional troops from within Kashmir Valley were deployed in the city in view of the requirement.

    “Rationalisation has happened. These troops have come from north and south Kashmir,” he said.

    Asked why the troopers were housed in community halls, the official said the places for accommodating the forces were chosen by the civil administration.

    “The CRPF is getting deployed at the behest of the civil administration. They put us into a place of their choosing,” he added.

  • Will continue to respect NC leaders Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah: BJP leader Devender Singh Rana

    By PTI

    JAMMU: After ending his long association with the National Conference (NC), the new entrant in the BJP, Devender Singh Rana, on Sunday said he will continue to respect former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah with whom he had worked for over two decades.

    He termed the civilian killings in Kashmir a conspiracy hatched by Pakistan to harm communal harmony and said that India, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, will defeat the nefarious designs of the neighboring country.

    “I have worked with (NC president) Farooq Abdullah and (vice president) Omar Abdullah for the past nearly 23 years. I have respect for both of them and it will continue,” Rana told reporters at the BJP headquarters where he was accorded a warm welcome after joining the party in Delhi on Monday.

    He was responding to a question about Omar Abdullah’s recent statement that Rana’s departure from the NC was more of a personal loss to him, rather than the party, as he had invested a lot in him.

    Rana, the younger brother of Union minister Jitendra Singh, had taken over the post of provincial president of the NC in 2011 after relinquishing his office as political advisor to the then chief minister Omar Abdullah.

    He, along with senior party colleague and former minister S S Slathia, joined the BJP in Delhi on Monday.

    “Politics brought me at a stage where I had to change the direction and way,” he said.

    In reply to a question about the recent targeted killings in the valley, the BJP leader said these are part of Pakistan’s conspiracy aimed at harming the communal harmony and brotherhood in Jammu and Kashmir.

    “Terrorism has no place in civil society…Under the leadership of Modi and Shah, a befitting response will be given (to Pakistan). The people of Jammu and Kashmir will also stand united to defeat the designs of Pakistan and the forces who want to harm our brotherhood,” he said.

    The BJP leader said Jammu and Kashmir is an example of brotherhood and “we will join hands to uphold it and defeat the inimical elements who are out to harm it. They will get the answer and will be finished here”.

    Asked about his reaction to the ongoing operation in the forest areas of Poonch and Rajouri which left nine Army personnel dead in two separate encounters with terrorists over the past week, he said nobody has the right to speak on the security operations.

    “Our Army and other forces are strong enough to give a befitting response to their adversaries. I am fully confident that our Army, which is known for its professionalism around the globe, will achieve all the success as it cannot be defeated by anyone,” he said.

  • Omar Abdullah says govt should give sense of security to people cutting across religions in J&K

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Voicing concern over the recent killing of civilians, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday said “everyone is feeling unsafe”, and asked the administration to give the people a sense of security cutting across religions.

    Pointing out that terror attacks in the Union Territory this year had claimed the lives of 28 civilians cutting across religious lines, Abdullah, who is the vice-president of the National Conference (NC), at the same time hoped there will not be a fresh exodus of Kashmiri Pandits and Sikhs, both of whom had been targeted in the recent days.

    “All of us should try our level best to ensure that we do not see a fresh exodus of minorities from Kashmir”, he said, adding that no one community feels safer than the other.

    “Whatever can be done to stem this and to restore the sense of security to these communities must be done. Obviously, the lion’s share of this work has to be done by the administration but as the majority community, we also carry some of that responsibility. We must fulfil that responsibility”, he told PTI in an interview here.

    Castigating the administration for trying to “score propaganda and public relations victories rather than focus on the ground realities”, Abdullah asked the authorities to “take a long hard look at why we have reached where we have”.

    Abdullah, however, refrained from terming the recent attacks as an intelligence failure, saying: “…I think it’s the failure to act on intelligence. That is a failure you cannot just blame the police for because the counter-militancy operations are conducted by police, paramilitary and military. It is the collective failure of our counter-insurgency grid.”

    He reasoned that for the last few months there has been chatter about targeted attacks against minorities, particularly against Kashmiri Pandits.

    “So obviously, if somebody like me who has no association or anything like that with the government and is not privy to any intelligence reports, if I could hear this, then I am sure the intelligence agencies also picked it up and if they have picked it up, they would have passed it on to the people who matter,” he said.

    Expressing concern about locals joining various terror groups, he said this is an issue that the government and political parties should be concerned about.

    “I am not privy to statistics, I don’t know the numbers but from my own colleagues, I do understand that this trend continues and it is not a trend limited to a particular area, we hear these reports from south, central and north Kashmir,” he said.

    “It is something that should concern us and again it is for the government to create the necessary conditions that these youngsters do not get attracted to the idea of picking up a gun,” he added.

    Abdullah, however, cautioned against detaining people across the valley and said, “We need to be very careful not to get into knee-jerk reactions. Reactions for the sake of reacting, just because we have to show something, we do this.”

    “I am sure that I don’t doubt that perhaps these 400 plus people have some sort of dossier with the government, for whatever reason — whether they were involved in stone-pelting, linked to proscribed organisations. The fact is, are they directly connected to this attack or is there any linkage between them and this attack? 

    “If there is, by all means proceed and file charges and let the courts decide about the guilt but this sort of random and wanton sort of arrest, it doesn’t help the situation and in fact anything it makes the situation worse,” Abdullah said while replying to a question about the recent crackdown by police in Kashmir and detaining over 400 people.

    He said the government needs to be very careful and should not be seen to be carrying out activities with a view to take revenge. Instead, it should be seen as an organisation or as an “entity that delivers justice by all means”, he said.

    Abdullah, who was the chief minister of the erstwhile state for six years between 2009-14, had been able to clear central and north Kashmir of terrorists and their supporters.

    Asked whether he was disheartened that the place has been infested by terrorists again, he said: “Disheartened will perhaps be a strong term, disappointed and concerned yes – because we know militants are moving around in areas that have been free of militancy.

    “Srinagar city was completely cleared of militancy. Same is true for Ganderbal and Budgam districts.

    It is disappointing but again the government needs to take a long hard look at why these areas have been occupied again and then see what corrective measures the government needs to take.

    The corrective measures that are not at the cost of everybody, they know they have to be very careful how they go about their activities,” he said.

    Abdullah asserted that the situation in Afghanistan would have no impact on the security situation in Kashmir other than the distinct possibility “that it may act as a morale booster for terror groups operating in the Union Territory”.

  • Attacks on civilians in J&K aimed at dividing communities, says Omar Abdullah

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: The recent attacks on civilians in Jammu and Kashmir were aimed at creating a wedge between communities and it is the responsibility of the majority community to give a sense of security to our brothers, National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah said on Friday.

    He made an earnest appeal to members of the minority communities in Kashmir to not allow a repeat of what happened in the 1990s by leaving their homes.

    Speaking to reporters after visiting the residence of slain school principal Supinder Kour at Aloochi Bagh here, Abdullah also criticised the administration for failing to apprehend the attacks.

    “The attacks are taking place back-to-back and no one feels secure here today. The Muslims here have also been targeted, Kashmiri Pandits and Sikh brethren also. They do not feel safe,” he said.

    “This is no time for politics, and I have not come here for politics, but it is the responsibility of the rulers to make people understand where the failure lies,” Abdullah added.

    The former chief minister of the erstwhile state of J&K said even as he was not part of the government, he had “been hearing since the last month or so that minority communities will be targeted here”.

    “I heard it from very responsible people. When this information could reach me, did it not reach the responsible persons in the administration? Why did they not do anything about it?” “There is an atmosphere of fear, everyone is thinking of leaving from here. It is our responsibility, especially of the majority community, to try to give a sense of security to our brothers and neighbours so that we will not see a repeat of the 1990s-like situation,” he said.

    When asked if the attacks were done to disrupt the communal harmony in J&K, Abdullah said the militants always had such an agenda.

    “They have had this agenda from the start. Yesterday also, they separated these two teachers and then killed them. The aim is to disrupt the traditional communal harmony here and worsen the situation.”

    “That is why I said it is the responsibility of the majority community. When we look for safety of Muslims and Sikhs in other parts from our Hindu brethren, so, in Kashmir also where Muslims are in majority, it is our responsibility to provide them a sense of security,” he said.

    Appealing the minority communities not to leave Kashmir Valley, Abdullah said it is easy to pass a judgment in his position but “it will be extremely unfair because I can well imagine the sense of fear that they must be living under”.

    “All I can do is make an earnest appeal to all of them. The aim of these attacks is to drive a wedge between the communities and is to try and drive these communities out of Kashmir. We cannot let these attacks succeed, and therefore, I am making an earnest appeal to all of them to not consider leaving from here,” he said.

    The NC leader said his party will continue to press the administration to make sure that all these people feel secure and they are given security.

    “But there should not be a pick and choose approach like the government’s decision after these attacks to give a 10-day holiday to Kashmiri Pandit employees, but not to Kashmiri Sikhs. In this attack, if a Pandit as well as a Sikh were attacked, why only holiday for Pandits? Why not for them,” he said.

  • It’s too much to expect Congress to fight BJP when its state leaders busy in infighting: Omar Abdullah

    By PTI

    SRINAGAR: It is too much to expect the Congress to take the fight to the BJP when its state leaders are too busy fighting amongst themselves, National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah said on Saturday after the resignation of Amarinder Singh as Punjab Chief Minister.

    Abdullah, a former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, said the Congress party’s actions have a direct impact on every political party outside the BJP-led National Democratic Allaince (NDA) as almost 200 Lok Sabha seats see a direct contest between the Congress and the BJP.

    In a series of tweets, he said, “I guess it’s too much to expect the Congress to take the fight to the BJP when its state leaders are too busy fighting amongst themselves.”

    “Ordinarily I wouldn’t give a toss about the fratricide in the Congress party – their party, their business.

    However what the Congress does has a direct fallout for every political party outside the NDA orbit because almost 200 Lok Sabha seats see a direct BJP – Cong fight,” he added.

    Congress veteran Amarinder Singh on Saturday resigned as the chief minister of Punjab, capping months of a power tussle that had polarised the ruling party in the state headed for elections in just about four months.