Rehan Qayoom Mir
Srinagar, May 08: “There is no Eknath Shinde in the National Conference and all its legislators stand firmly with the party,” Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Friday.
The CM alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would not restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir until it forms a government in the Union Territory. He further accused the opposition of using the issue of statehood for political pressure and “blackmail politics”.
Talking to reporters here, Omar, as reported by the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), ruled out any possibility of a split within the NC.
“I will only say this to the LOP — there is no Eknath Shinde in the National Conference. All our MLAs are with the party,” he said.
The Chief Minister also dismissed speculation that the delay in cabinet expansion was linked to political instability or fear within the ruling alliance, saying the process has stalled solely because Jammu and Kashmir has not been granted statehood.
“The expansion of the cabinet has stopped because we have not been given the status of a state. The cabinet expansion has not stopped because of fear,” he said.
Omar further alleged that the delimitation exercise conducted in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 was designed only to benefit the BJP and its allies.
“We have suffered what we had to suffer. We have suffered their delimitation, and we know how the delimitation was done. It was carried out only to benefit the BJP and its allies. Now let us see what happens next. This is how the intentions of the BJP become clear,” he said.
He said the recent political developments and statements from the opposition exposed the BJP’s intentions towards Jammu and Kashmir and its elected government.
Referring to political developments in Maharashtra and the split in Shiv Sena, the Chief Minister said the BJP had played a direct role in encouraging defections.
“Eknath Shinde left because the BJP helped him to leave. It is obvious that the LoP is impatient to occupy the Chief Minister’s chair in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
He alleged that the BJP was deliberately preventing the elected government from functioning effectively and withholding restoration of statehood for political reasons.
“That is why I repeatedly say that the LoP proves through his statements that until the BJP gets a government here, they will not let us work properly and they will not make Jammu and Kashmir a state,” he said.
Abdullah also accused the opposition of indulging in what he termed blackmail politics and attempting to politically pressure the people of Jammu and Kashmir over the issue of statehood.
“The people of Jammu and Kashmir, especially those who voted for the BJP in the last election, should remember that the LoP and his party indulge in blackmail politics,” he said. “The people of Jammu and Kashmir are being threatened in the name of statehood.”
CM Omar said there was no justification for stopping democratic processes when constitutional mechanisms exist to test the majority on the floor of the House.
“If we go by the judgments of the Supreme Court, then there should be no President’s Rule in such situations. There are many cases in which the Supreme Court has clearly said that after elections, the single largest party should be invited to form the government and should be given an opportunity to prove its majority in the Assembly,” he said.
He further cited the example of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s 13-day government to underline his point that constitutional conventions require inviting the single largest party first.
“This is what happened when Mr Vajpayee formed the 13-day government. The President of India did not wait for him to show his numbers. At that time, the President called him and the 13-day government was formed. When Mr Vajpayee did not have the required numbers, he resigned,” he added.
“Even today, if you go by the judgments of the Supreme Court, there is no reason to stop this process. Whoever is invited to form the government should be given a chance to prove a majority in the Assembly. If he proves the majority, he remains there. If he does not prove the majority, then he has to resign,” he added—(KNO)
