Omar rules out alliance with NDA

Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, June 16: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today ruled out National Conference’s alliance with NDA, saying their previous association was only due to his party’s relationship with former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
“It was possible for the NC to be part of NDA because it was headed by a figure like Atal Bihari Vajpayee who was seen to be unifying factor. Parties like mine could never dream of going in an alliance where the face that is to be projected, is the one that the BJP is working towards”, Omar told reporters on the side-lines of inauguration of State Judicial Academy Complex.
He said that the NC and the NDA were unnatural allies. “I do not see a possibility of the NC returning to the NDA fold. The relationship between NC and NDA was due to Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He was a sort of leader who brought people together,” Omar added.
Omar said that unless a leader like Vajpayee is thrown up by the NDA, the possibility of the NC returning to the alliance does not exist.
The Chief Minister, whose party severed ties with NDA in 2003, said the split of JD(U) from the alliance is an advantage for the UPA.
Omar said that with the elevation of Narendra Modi some of the allies in NDA will be extremely uncomfortable. “You have seen the Chief Minister of Orissa and West Bengal have made a similar statements. They are all previous allies of NDA who will not go back to tying up with the BJP because of the face they are projecting. So clearly, with this sort of scenario, it is advantage UPA,” he added.
“I believe now the challenge for the BJP is that they are gradually loosing allies. They will have to figure out whether Narendra Modi can deliver that many seats to Parliament. If not then their dream of occupying the treasury benches in Parliament will remain unfulfilled,” the Chief Minister said.
Earlier, while reacting to a comment by Justice Tirath Singh Thakur of Supreme Court during his speech in the Academy auditorium that lawmakers also can be imparted training regarding law in the Judicial Academy Complex, Omar said that time has come when politicians need to get training in law.
“I think time has come where we as representatives need to take formal training in law and use facilities like this to teach ourselves.” he said.
Over the fighting of legislators during Assembly sessions, the Chief Minister wished that they could also have a weapon like contempt of courts so that they did not throw mikes and cushions at each other. “I wish I had a weapon like courts have that is contempt of court to keep checks and balances,” he said.
Omar hoped that courts were little more reluctant to halt the entire process of development works and recruitments when any person gets the orders of stay from courts.
“I have a small request to make in sort of the impart of justice which directly effects very often the delivery of services and particularly development on the part of the Government; and that is the ability of people to get appointment orders or development stayed in courts on flimsy grounds,” Omar said.
“It has become almost impossible for us today to complete a process of recruitment or a development project without somebody or other being able to stay almost the entire process on extremely flimsy grounds and, therefore, while it is definitely the responsibility of my learned Advocate General and his team of lawyers sitting here to ensure that they argue our cases as strongly as possible in courts,” the Chief Minister said.

Follow our WhatsApp channel