Naveed ul Haq
Budgam, Nov 8: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of betraying the people by joining hands with the BJP after seeking votes to keep them at bay, stating that the party’s alliance in 2014 marked the beginning of Jammu and Kashmir’s “downfall”.
Addressing a public rally at Mirgund, Budgam, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that no one has caused as much damage to Jammu and Kashmir as the BJP. “We are the unfortunate people who were turned from a state into a Union Territory. The PDP went door to door in 2014 asking for votes to keep the BJP away, but after winning, they joined hands with them.”
He said that the NC, unlike others, remained true to its word. “We are punished because we didn’t join the BJP. We refused to compromise and we are the only party ready to fight them,” he added.
Omar accused the PDP-led government of introducing GST and said the destruction of Jammu and Kashmir began in 2014, not in 2019. “Did the PDP ever apologise for its alliance with the BJP?” he asked, adding that parties like PDP, BJP, Apni Party, and others were unfairly targeting the National Conference.
He questioned why the PDP and other parties didn’t field candidates in the Nagrota by-election if they were truly against the BJP. “We even offered the seat to Congress, but they took four days and declined at the last moment, so we fielded our own candidate,” he said.
Promising major development projects for Budgam, Omar announced plans to establish a university and a new BCCI cricket academy and stadium in Kashmir. “Budgam is best suited for this — with the rail, airport and bypass nearby,” he said.
He added that despite vacating the Budgam seat earlier, he never abandoned the constituency. “I worked for a year for Budgam’s development, spending over Rs 110 crore on projects, including macadamisation, sports, and other infrastructure. Wherever Aga Mahmood points, work will happen — a new era of development will begin,” he said.
Highlighting his government’s welfare measures, Omar said, “We have fulfilled several promises — free bus rides for women, increased marriage assistance, changes in the exam calendar, and waiving stamp duty taxes. The opposition is worried because we are delivering on our commitments.”
Urging people to vote for National Conference candidate Aga Mahmood, Omar said, “You are not choosing your Chief Minister, but your MLA. Budgam’s votes will not make or break the government, but they will shape Budgam’s development. On November 11, press the NC button and say Bismillah.”
“I still consider myself Budgam’s MLA — it’s buy one, get one free. Vote for Aga Mahmood, and you get me too,” he added.
Meanwhile, speaking to the media persons, the Chief Minister said that north Kashmir had no representation since the Member of Parliament from Baramulla constituency, Engineer Abdul Rashid continued to languish in the jail.
Reacting to the statement of Er Rashid’s son, Abrar Rashid over rigging elections in 1987, Omar said that he was not even born at that time. “Let he speak about his statement wherein he stated that his father would come out of jail after winning the election. However, as he won the election, the people in North Kashmir were left without any representation. Therefore, we decided to nominate Choudhary Muhammad Ramzan for Rajya Sabha to represent the people there,” he said.
He also reiterated that if the people are not willing to install smart meters then they can opt out, but they won’t be able to get benefits of 200 free units of electricity.
