Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, May 11: People Conference chairman and MLA Handwara, Sajad Gani Lone, today accused the ruling National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party of orchestrating a “fixed match” that allowed the Bharatiya Janata Party to win a Rajya Sabha seat in Jammu and Kashmir despite their public anti-BJP stance during the Assembly elections.
Addressing a press conference, the Peoples Conference president questioned Chief Minister Omar Abdullah over revelations that no polling agent had been appointed during the Rajya Sabha election process.
“The agent’s job is that the member shows the vote to him and then casts it,” Lone said, adding that an RTI disclosure showed “they did not keep an agent,” allowing legislators to vote “according to their own will.”
Lone questioned Omar’s claim that he became aware of the matter only after the RTI surfaced. “Is it true that a sitting Chief Minister found out from an RTI?” he asked, saying the entire Assembly administration functioned under the Government’s authority.
Drawing on his own legislative experience, Lone said the failure to appoint a polling agent appeared deliberate and reflected “mala fide intentions.” He recalled that during the 2015 political arrangement involving his party, an agent had still been arranged through alliance partners to ensure transparency.
Lone claimed the Assembly numbers were sufficient for non-BJP parties to secure both Rajya Sabha seats through proper vote distribution. Referring to alleged cross-voting, he asked, “Where did these eight come from?” and alleged that some legislators invalidated votes while others supported the BJP candidate.
In a sarcastic remark, he said, “I will give Rs. 10 lakh as a prize, tell me who those eight MLAs are. Genies have entered the ballot boxes.”
Lone also hit out at the NC and PDP over what he described as political hypocrisy on issues such as alcohol policy and anti-BJP politics. “When they are in power, they issue permits. When they are out of power, they bring bills. What drama is this?” he said.
Turning to governance issues, Lone criticised the Government’s outsourcing policy, alleging that nearly 22,000 to 24,000 Government positions had been handed over to private agencies at an annual expenditure of around Rs. 1,000 crore.
He described outsourcing as “a million times more poisonous than a back-door appointment” and warned that it would “totally destroy the youth here.”
He further accused the government of replacing promised permanent jobs with a “hire and fire” system and claimed there was little accountability regarding the deployment of outsourced employees.
On governance and cabinet expansion, Lone dismissed suggestions that the administration was functioning effectively. “Who said people’s work is going on well?” he asked, adding that Omar Abdullah remained disconnected from the public.
Lone alleged that the NC and PDP alternated between cooperation and confrontation for “electoral convenience” while ordinary Kashmiris suffered the consequences.
He urged people in Jammu and Kashmir to “wake up and take notice” of what he called a continuing cycle of political deception.
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