Srinagar, July 13: Jammu and Kashmir chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday dismissed the BJP’s legal notice against him as a “love letter,” saying he was “honoured” to receive it as it proved the party viewed him as a political force it could not afford to overlook.
The sharp retort came hours after the J&K BJP served a defamation notice to CM Omar Abdullah over his allegation that the party had attempted to lure National Conference legislators with cash and ministerial berths to topple his government. The notice threatens a Rs 100-crore civil and criminal defamation suit if he fails to substantiate the charges or issue a public apology within seven days.
“I have received a letter from a lawyer, an electronic copy. I consider this a great honour as I am the only politician in Jammu and Kashmir to have been bestowed with a love letter like this by the BJP,” Mr Abdullah told reporters as per Kashmir Convener. “I consider it a mark of respect that I am obviously a political force in Jammu and Kashmir that they cannot ignore.”
The Chief Minister said he had expected a political response to a political statement but accused the saffron party of hiding behind the courts. “It is symbolic of the way the BJP fights. They take political fights and hide behind the courts. I could have made the same statement and hid behind the Assembly. I could have taken advantage of the privileges afforded to me by making the statements in the Assembly which cannot be challenged outside, but I did not,” he asserted.
CM Omar announced that the NC would now begin sending legal notices to BJP leaders in J&K for what he called “slanderous” allegations against his party in recent months. “Particularly, one leader has time and again levelled unfounded and slanderous allegations against us, but we have been fighting him politically. Going on now, we will begin the process of sending legal notices to that particular BJP leader and a few others and let’s see where this process ends,” he warned.
The BJP’s notice, issued through its legal cell, demands that J&K CM “issue an unconditional public apology,” “refrain from publishing or circulating any further defamatory material,” and “immediately cease and desist from making or repeating any such statements.”
Meanwhile, the BJP’s ally, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), rushed to its defence. NCP working president Praful Patel on Monday refuted the Chief Minister’s claims, asserting that the BJP had fully respected democratic traditions during the government formation in J&K.
“The National Conference was the single largest party in Jammu and Kashmir, and they had the support of the Congress party. No obstacles were placed in the way of that alliance forming a government there, and this is considered a healthy democratic practice,” Mr Patel told reporters. “The BJP always operates with faith in the democratic process,” he added.
The legal showdown comes days after CM Omar Abdullah first alleged attempts to engineer defections within the NC. Addressing party workers in Srinagar, he had claimed that a Supreme Court lawyer affiliated with the BJP offered one of his Jammu-based MLAs between Rs 20 to 30 crore, a ministry and statehood in exchange for defection. “No one sitting here will leave the party for Rs 20 crore or 100 crore,” he had declared.
The remarks also signal an increasingly confrontational stance by the NC government towards the Centre, as it prepares for a major statehood protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on July 20 — the opening day of the monsoon session of Parliament. The party has invited several INDIA bloc leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, and Opposition leaders from J&K.
CM Omar Abdullah questioned the rationale behind holding elections if the elected government was not allowed to function. “Our success in the last election is being used to punish the people of J&K. What’s the point? Then you should not have held elections. If they wanted to run J&K through the Raj Bhawan and have them take all decisions, then they should not have conducted elections. Why bring us forth with our hands tied behind our backs?” he asked.
Underlining that his “strength and patience” had been tested, the NC vice-president said his government had continued to work for the people but was now forced to protest. “We see ourselves and compare it to Ladakh and are forced to ask ourselves the question that the way the Centre is engaging with Ladakh, why not with us?” he said, pointing to the differential treatment of the two Union Territories.
Comments are closed.