JAMMU — In a veiled attack on BJP, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said a lot of attempts were made to erase the National Conference (NC) in the past 10 years but the party only emerged stronger due to its dedicated cadre base.
National Conference won 42 out of the 90 seats in Jammu and Kashmir to emerge as the single-largest party in the Assembly elections held recently after a decade, the first after the erstwhile state was bifurcated into two Union Territories following the revocation of special status under Article 370 in August 2019.
“Attempts were made not just to weaken but completely erase the party over the past eight to 10 years. Which schemes have not been used against us? Our colleagues were threatened or lured but most of them stood with the party and thwarted the conspiracies,” Abdullah said while addressing party workers at the NC headquarters here.
On his first visit to Jammu after taking oath as the chief minister on Wednesday, Abdullah was accorded a rousing reception by party leaders and workers who raised slogans praising him and the NC. Without identifying the ‘conspirators’ but apparently referring to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Abdullah said the NC leadership fought against these powers and barring a couple of leaders, nobody left the party.
“Those who left thought that National Conference would be finished by their decision to quit the party. But it has been proved that NC is a party of workers, not leaders,” the chief minister said, referring to former NC provincial president Devender Singh Rana and ex-minister S S Slathia who joined the BJP in October 2021.
Stating that the party derives its strength first from the almighty and then from its workers, Abdullah said, “Our very strong cadre base has weathered the storm.” Thanking the voters and the party workers for NC’s triumph in the Assembly polls, the chief minister said five of the seven Independent MLAs extended their support to NC without setting any precondition.
“Not a single Independent MLA asked anything for themselves. As everyone waited patiently for this day, we have to now ensure that all the Assembly segments are developed equally and people’s issues are addressed to their satisfaction,” he said. Claiming that decisions related to developmental projects will not be made without taking the people into confidence, Abdullah said, “The link with people should not be lost. It is our duty to bridge the gap between the government and the public.”
The chief minister also announced that he will hold meetings with the party cadres on the sidelines of government functions to get their feedback, rather than depending solely on government officials. Stating that he was tired of dying continuous politics because of the back-to-back Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, Abdullah said he now wants to concentrate more on addressing the issues facing the people of J&K.
Referring to some of his colleagues telling him that there was something good about his loss in the Lok Sabha polls, Abdullah said, “I was thinking what can be good in a defeat… But after becoming the chief minister, I am getting a lot of messages from people who never tried to inquire about my wellbeing in the past five years.”
The chief minister also assured mediapersons that his government will not interfere in their functioning, saying democracy is incomplete without an independent press. “My government will ensure that no injustice is done with the mediapersons. They are free to criticise any shortcoming in my government,” he said. — (PTI)