Tassaduq Hussain
Kupwara: Former Chief Minster and National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah on Thursday said that his party’s support to NDA government in 2004 was difference from PDP-BJP coalition because ‘Pakistan friendly’ Atal Bihari Vajpayee was heading it.
“National Conference was part of alliance with NDA some years back but our alliance was quite different than that of recent PDP-BJP because, Vajpayee was Pakistan friendly. He had good ties with Pakistan and he took proper initiatives to resolve Kashmir issue but BJP-PDP coalition made people of this state to suffer and resorted to mass arrests,” Omar told a workers convention at Lolab in this north Kashmir district.
Omar blamed PDP for prevailing situation in Kashmir. “All the sufferings, pain, bans, and other hardships faced by Kashmiris is all because of Bhartiya Janta Party and RSS which was welcomed to the Valley by Peoples Democratic Party.”
Omar claimed that if people will vote National Conference to power the party’s priority will be to revoke the ban on Jama’at-e-Islami and JKLF. “Suppressing unarmed struggle isn’t the solution. All those lodged under differed jails across the valley or outside will be released at the earliest soon we take over,” Omar said.
Omar also criticized formation of new mainstream parties and asked why only Kashmir sees new political parties after every elections and why not Jammu and Ladakh provision.
Omar also accused BJP double speak and dual policy. “They’re talking quite different in New Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir. It is BJP which succeeded in its plan not to hold the Assembly Elections in the state. “
Omar also claimed that whenever National Conference was out of power the special status of Valley—370 and 35-A— was tempered “because National Conference has always stood to safeguard it no matter what it takes.”
