KL NEWS NETWORK

SRINAGAR

Omar Abdullah

National Conference Working President Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said PDP had shunned unconditional support from National Conference after elections in the State citing the alleged financial interests of the State – interests that would be better served by an alliance with BJP. “Today, a year has passed since the devastating floods that hit the State in September 2014 and the funds that apparently tempted Mufti Sahab to embrace the BJP are nowhere in sight. While the State Government has thirty crores for cars of its Ministers and for six new cars for the Chief Minister, they don’t have a penny to spare for the poor flood victims,” the NC Working President said while addressing party workers at a commemorative event held at, Naseem Bagh Srinagar to observe the 33rd Death Anniversary of National Conference Founder SK Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah.

“After there was a hung verdict in the State post the Assembly Elections of 2015, National Conference offered unconditional support to PDP to form Government in the State. We neither demanded Ministerial Berths nor the post of the Deputy Chief Minister – nor did we seek any perks of power. We offered support to Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in the larger interests of the State and its people. We didn’t want Mufti Sayeed to cite the lack of an alternative option as an excuse for tying up with the BJP and RSS. We extended support to Mufti Sayeed despite the fact that his sole motive in politics has been to harm the National Conference and divide the voice of the people of J&K. However, at that time PDP turned down our hand of friendship and support saying that an alliance with the BJP would apparently translate into economic packages and central funds for J&K. Today I ask Mufti Sahab – where are those funds that allegedly compelled you to enter into an alliance with the BJP and the RSS? This Government has absolutely nothing to offer to the flood victims and to the people of the State at large,” the NC Working President said.

The NC Working President said there were enormous disparities between the Central Government’s approach towards the post-flood reconstruction and rehabilitation in Uttarakhand and its shocking indifference in J&K. “Uttarakhand Floods of 2013 were much less in severity and the scale of devastation was not even comparable to what we saw here in J&K last September. The Central Government approved the proposal of the Uttarakhand Government within the first month and a half of the tragedy there and sanctioned around almost 10,000 crores in aid in terms of a Relief & Rehabilitation Package – the entire amount sought by the State. Even dead mules were compensated for in Uttarakhand – at the rate of 50,000 in compensation for every dead mule. Sadly, the Union Government hasn’t shown any political will to do anything for the Flood Victims in J&K even a year after the floods has passed in hopelessness and misery for the flood victims. While dead mules were compensated for in Uttarakhand, our flood victims who lost their kith and kin weren’t found deserving of adequate, dignified compensation. This is the perhaps the most painful example of the discrimination that has been meted out to Kashmir,” Omar said.

“That said the biggest tragedy is not the indifference of the Narendra Modi Government towards the flood victims in Kashmir but the shameful reality that our own Finance Minister of the PDP-BJP Government demonized and ridiculed the 44,000 Crore Flood Relief & Rehabilitation Package submitted by the previous NC-led Government. He opposed this package on the floor of the Legislative Assembly giving New Delhi an exit to escape the responsibility of announcing a package for the flood victims. Sadly PDP couldn’t look beyond scoring partisan points even on a humanitarian issue as grave as this. Shame on them for sabotaging the succour of a devastated people,” Omar added.

Lashing out at Mufti Mohammad Sayeed for being a weak Chief Minister whose orders held no weight, Omar Abdullah said it none other than Mufti Sayeed who ordered the detention of Hurriyat Leaders ahead of the NSA level talks between India and Pakistan. “Mufti Sahab ordered the detention of Hurriyat Leaders ahead of the NSA level talks and he played an instrumental role in sabotaging those talks at the behest of BJP. Never in the past has a mainstream party in J&K interfered in meetings between Hurriyat leaders and visiting Paksitani delegations. Mufti Mohammad Sayeed created history when he became the first Chief Minister who prevented Hurriyat from meeting a visiting Pakistani delegation just because he wanted to please his handlers in Delhi. Then, after public outrage and hostility, he pleaded that the Hurriyat leaders be detained in New Delhi instead,” the NC Working President said.

“This is perhaps the weakest Chief Minister that this State has had and this State has had its share of pliant regimes and pliant rulers when the popular, democratically elected leadership of National Conference was usurped and deposed. However, Mufti Sahab has broken all records of subservience to New Delhi.  He has literally bartered the sanctity and authority of the CM’s chair for the tempting prospects of remaining in power. He issues an order and a Cabinet Minister overturns the order within twelve hours. The new word on the street is that Mufti Sahab’s orders as the CM have twelve hour validity,” Omar Abdullah further added.

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