SRINAGAR, May 6: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday brushed aside PDP MP Waheed Para’s claim that the National Conference (NC) MLAs were planning to defect from the party, terming it “baseless”.
Speaking to reporters after a function at Tangmarg in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, Abdulah accused the PDP of spreading rumours and asserted that no NC legislator would leave the party.
“Do you think I would be attending these functions if some MLAs were preparing to leave? These are baseless reports. These are the same people who helped the BJP in the Rajya Sabha polls. It is not that we are saying this; it was revealed by RTI. There is no such MLA in the National Conference who will leave the party to support the BJP,” he said.
Abdullah was referring to an RTI disclosure, which revealed that the PDP did not appoint a chief agent for last year’s Rajya Sabha elections, and enabled J&K BJP chief Sat Sharma to secure a seat, despite the saffron party lacking the necessary numbers.
Earlier, Para claimed on X that internal dissent was brewing within the NC, and that some of its MLAs were in contact with PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti.
In that post, Para had also questioned Abdullah’s silence on the J&K
government declaring Jamia Siraj-ul-Uloom, a prominent religious-cummodern educational seminary in Shopian, an ‘unlawful entity’ under the UAPA.
Responding to the charge, Abdullah said, “I do not work according to what some other party says. When I have to say something, I say it. Neither my government nor I is silent. Wherever issues come up on which we have to talk, we talk either on behalf of the government or the party.” Responding to a question about the West Bengal election results and the row over SIR, the CM said, “So many voters were deleted from the voter list, and the court said they will hear the matter after the elections. What will the hearing now achieve?
Elections are over and those people did not get an opportunity to vote. If the BJP had to do it for winning, then be it, they have won now. We will have to see what impact it will have in the rest of the country.” When asked about the possibility of cabinet expansion, Abdullah said, “Why are you people so concerned about it? When we have to do it, we will do it.” He said the tourist spots that continued to remain closed after last year’s Pahalgam attack would be reopened gradually.
“This was raised in the assembly as well. Many places have been reopened, some remain, and they will also be reopened gradually,” he said. (Agencies)
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