National Conference (NC) Vice President Omar Abdullah has asked if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s claims of normalcy and development are true then why New Delhi is reluctant in holding elections in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Omar Abdullah while contesting the Modi government’s claims on development and normalcy in the occupied territory in a statement in Srinagar said, the situation on the ground is in stark contrast to the claims made after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.
“Hoisting big flags everywhere cannot win people’s hearts. To win people’s hearts one has to understand their feelings, solve their problems, and reduce their suffering and their feelings and emotions. It has to be appreciated. You cannot win the hearts of the people by keeping them locked up in jails for years,” he said.
Omar said that New Delhi made a lot of propaganda about Article 370 which ultimately proved to be a lie and deception. “The entire world was told that Article 370 is a barrier to employment in J&K, the root of bribery and corruption. …What has changed? If BJP has done development for J&K then why run away from elections,” he asked.
“Our people are struggling in every sphere of life whether it is availability of water, erratic power supply, or unemployment. Our honour has been erased, our identity destroyed, what did the people here get in return for this except problems, difficulties and sufferings? Which young people are doing government jobs today? We were told that there will be no electricity cuts now. But the reality is for everyone to see. The daily lives of our people are crippled with unscheduled power cuts and long outages. This government has left no stone unturned in installing smart meters, but when it comes to ensuring electric supply, the administration turns volte-face,” Omar said.
Taking a dig at BJP’s local cronies, he said, “I advise BJP’s A, B, C, and D teams to raise their voice against what is happening to Kashmiris in Uttar Pradesh. Use your influence to see how Kashmiris are called to police stations and harassed. If you can’t talk about Kashmiris, at least talk about the Muslims of UP, where anything with the stamp of Halal is a crime now. You have given up on the restoration of Article 370, but why are you silent on other things?”
