Govt delaying elections as BJP lacks courage to face voters: Omar Abdullah

Former Chief Minister and National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah on Monday attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the Centre for not conducting the assembly elections in Jammu & Kashmir, saying the ruling party lacks the courage to face voters as they have failed to mitigate people’s problems.

According to the news agency, Omar while addressing the first public meeting at the Bajalta area of the outskirts of Nagrota constituency in Jammu – the first after the abrogation of Article 370 – said they (BJP) have also not been able to keep their promise of bringing large-scale investments and creating job opportunities in the Union Territory.

“They are not ready to face the people and are escaping from (assembly) elections on one pretext or the other. They used the pretext of delimitation of constituencies and revision of electoral rolls which stands completed long back. They talked about the weather not being conducive but have no justification to further delay the polls,” he said.

The NC vice president said the BJP has only two reasons for delaying the polls further: one could be the worsening security situation which they claim has improved, and the second is that they are afraid to face the voters.

The former chief minister further said that despite many differences, both Jammu and Kashmir share common sufferings. “Nobody can deny the differences between Kashmir and Jammu as far as weather and culture is concerned but what we witness today is that both the regions are having common sufferings; people are annoyed and gripped by despondency,” he said.

Referring to the anti-encroachment drives in the Union Territory, Omar Abdullah said he was surprised to see the pictures when they took out a bulldozer rally in Kashmir to frighten the public.

“Welfare governments procure ambulances, school buses, vehicles for transports and other public goods but the present regime purchases bulldozers. I was assumed by seeing the pictures of bulldozers, which are hundreds in number, procured by the government to demolish homes,” he said.

When people protested and the situation became tense, the bulldozer drive was stopped at the behest of Delhi, he claimed. He said after the demolition drive was stopped, they frightened people with the tax. “They are saying only a handful of income will be generated but if that is the case, then what is the need for imposing the tax to harass the public,” he asked.

The former chief minister said that for the first time, he is witnessing “a government which feels happiness in inflicting difficulties on the people”. “It is better to get rid of this government as soon as possible,” he said.