Soon after Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah questioned the relevance of INDIA bloc after the Lok Sabha election, his father and National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah on Thursday said those who think the alliance was just for parliamentary polls should come out of this misconception.
Omar Abdullah and Farooq Abdullah were speaking to reporters on the sidelines of different functions in the Jammu region.
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Omar lashed out at the bitter campaign between the AAP and Congress ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls and said the INDIA bloc should be wound up in case it was set up just for the Lok Sabha elections. However, in a conflicting statement his father Dr. Farooq Abdullah said “As far as alliance is concerned, alliance exists in everything, and not limited to contesting elections. The alliance exists to strengthen the country and remove hatred from our country”.
Omar’s remark came a day after the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav said that the INDIA bloc has lost its significance as it was specifically formed for the Lok Sabha elections.
Omar, whose National Conference is part of the INDIA bloc, responded to questions of newsmen about both AAP and Congress resorting to acrimonious poll campaign against each other in Delhi, by saying that unity lacks among the opposition.
“They should wind up the alliance in case it was just for the Lok Sabha elections”, Omar said.
Saying that we have nothing to do with the Delhi elections, he lamented lack of clarity on INDIA bloc’s future and said the Congress and AAP should decide how they can effectively fight against the BJP. The AAP won the past two elections and this time we will have to wait to see who gets the mandate of the Delhi voters.
Hitting out at the bloc’s leadership, Omar said “It is unfortunate that no meeting of the alliance has taken place. Who will lead? What will be the agenda? How will the alliance move forward? There is no discussion on these issues. There is no clarity whether we will remain United or not”.
Omar said “A meeting of the INDIA bloc should be held after the Delhi polls to provide clarity. If the alliance is to continue for the Assembly elections, then we must work together”.
It is worth mentioning that the Congress that is supporting the Omar led NC government in J&K, is so far keeping quiet on Omar’s statements.
In December, Omar had asked the Congress to justify its leadership role in the alliance instead of taking it for granted. Omar, while recognising the Congress’ significant position as a pan-India party and the largest opposition in Parliament, emphasised that leadership “has to be earned” and cannot be taken for granted. He also suggested that the party should raise the issue of restoration of statehood in Jammu and Kashmir.
Soon after the recent Assembly elections in J&K, he said the pre-poll alliance with the Congress was not an easy decision as the party had to “sacrifice” many seats it felt it had a chance to win.
After the polls in Maharashtra, Omar dismissed the Congress’ objection to the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and said “if you have problems with the EVMs, then you should be consistent in those problems”. “You can’t accept election results when you win, and blame EVMs when you lose”, he said.
