Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Archives - Lokmarg

EC Should Spell Out Factors For Not Holding Elections in J-K: Abdullah

By LokMarg 9th October 2023

The National Conference (NC) Vice President Omar Abdullah on Monday raised questions regarding the delay in conducting elections in Jammu and Kashmir and called on the Election Commission of India to clarify the reasons behind this delay.

He emphasized that the ECI owes an explanation to the people of J-K as to why they are being deprived of their democratic rights.

“They (ECI) are not being given the permission to hold elections in Jammu-Kashmir. If asked about the elections, you (ECI) said that you are considering the factors. Tell us what are the factors (for not holding elections in J-K) for it. Is the situation so bad that elections can’t be conducted? But the Government of India across the world is telling the story that J&K is peaceful and thousands of tourists are coming. ECI has to answer to the people of J-K why are they keeping them away from democracy,” Omar Abdullah said.

He further said that the ECI has no plausible reasons not to hold elections in J-K.

He further said that the results of the Kargil Hill Council results are “a verdict against the Centre’s move made on August 5, 2019, to bifurcate J-K”.

With the results of all 26 seats declared in the counting for Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (Kargil) polls, the National Conference and Congress alliance on Sunday won 22 seats, comfortably crossing the halfway mark.

The Congress-National Conference alliance bagged 22 seats out of 26 seats (10 Congress and 12 National Conference) while the BJP just won 2 seats and 2 seats were won by independent candidates. This was the first election in the Union Territory Ladakh after Article 370 was scrapped from the Indian constitution.

There are a total of 30 seats in the council, of which 26 are elected members and the remaining four are nominated. (ANI)

Why BJP Suddenly Revived Idea Of NDA: Omar

By LokMarg 18th July 2023

As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) decided to hold a meeting of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the National Capital on Tuesday, coinciding with the Opposition party meeting which was convened in Karnataka’s Bengaluru, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah slammed the party for ‘suddenly reviving the idea of NDA’.

“When was the last time an NDA meeting was held? Why have they (BJP) suddenly revived the idea of NDA? For them (BJP) alliance has become a necessity…,” Omar Abdullah said while talking to the reporters here.
Omar Abdullah was among the leaders of 26 like-minded parties that were part of the second Opposition meeting held in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

A meeting of 38 parties of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was convened in the national capital on Tuesday.

On the other hand, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti who was also representing the Union Territory with Abdullah said that everything on which the country stands is at stake.

“This is not a time for us to be proud of whatever is happening in the country because people outside our country are pointing fingers at us… So I think today our country, not only internally we are going through a turmoil where the very existence on which our country stands, everything is at stake,” Mufti said.

The second and concluding day of the opposition unity meeting in Bengaluru was held, with 26 like-minded parties closing ranks with a common aim of taking on the Bharatiya Janata Party in the next year’s Lok Sabha polls.

In the meeting, it was decided that the Opposition front will be known as

I.N.D.I.A – the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance.

On Tuesday, while addressing the media after the meeting, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said, “Earlier, we were UPA and now all the 26 parties have given a name to the opposition and that is – Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). Everybody has agreed upon this, and the resolution for the name was passed unanimously.”

He further said, “The BJP wants to destroy democracy, Constitution, using autonomous bodies like CBI, ED, vigilance all such institutions against opposition party leaders and workers. This is a grave situation. We have come together to save this situation. How to save the country and the people of the country — this is the issue before us.”

Asked who will lead the alliance, Kharge said, “We are making a coordination committee of 11. At that meeting in Mumbai, we will decide on who the 11 will be, who the Convenor will be, etc. These are small things”.

Kharge further said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is afraid of opposition parties coming together.

“NDA is holding a meeting with 30 parties. I have not heard about so many parties in India. Earlier they didn’t hold any meetings but now they are meeting one by one (with NDA parties) PM Modi is now afraid of opposition parties. We have gathered here to save democracy and the Constitution,” Kharge said. (ANI)

Pretty Damn Impressive: Omar Praises New Parliament Building

By LokMarg 26th May 2023

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday praised the new Parliament building terming it “pretty damn impressive”.

In a tweet, Omar Abdullah said, “Setting aside the brouhaha about the inauguration for a moment, this building is a welcome addition. The old Parliament House has served us well but as someone who has worked there for a few years, a lot of us often spoke amongst ourselves about the need for a new & improved parliament building. Better late than never is all I’ll say & this one looks pretty damn impressive.”
PM Modi will dedicate the new Parliament building to the country on May 28.

Meanwhile, slamming the opposition parties’ call for boycotting the inauguration of the new Parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several leaders and activists from Jammu and Kashmir on Friday extended support to the inauguration while also describing the opposition’s decision as “childish and trivial”.

Speaking to ANI, socio-political activist Adil Hussain said, “The new parliament building is the temple of democracy. It is a very proud thing for all of us, for all Indians including the Opposition. In the last 70 years, we did not have such leadership. If you see the ratings worldwide, Prime Minister Modi’s rating is 78 whereas US President Joe Bidden’s rating is only 43. The Opposition has expressed issues but we do not think that this is such a big issue. Politics should not happen on this.”

Meanwhile, Ghulam Nabi Azad’s party Democratic Progressive Asad Party (DPAP) spokesperson, Firdous, said, “This is not such a big issue as the Opposition has been portraying. This is simply childish behaviour by the opposition parties. This new Parliament building has a vision. It is a great move by PM Modi to inaugrate the Parliament. An agenda should not be made out of this.”

He said that the inauguration should be welcomed with “open arms” and disrespecting the Prime Minister by boycotting the event is not right.

“As a spokesperson of the party, I believe the inauguration should be welcomed with open arms. After all, he is our Prime Minister. Disrespecting the Prime Minister is not right. We must respect the move. Earlier Prime Ministers including Rajiv Gandhi also inaugurated the building in the Parliament. This is not new,” the DPAP spokesperson added.

Notably, at least 21 opposition parties have decided to boycott the PM’s decision to preside over the inauguration ceremony instead of President Droupadi Murmu.

The opposition said that the inauguration of the building without President Droupadi Murmu “insults the high office of the President, and violates the letter and spirit of the Constitution”.

Meanwhile, amid the boycott call by the opposition, the Centre has received a confirmed list of 25 political parties, including some which are not a part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), that will participate in the inauguration ceremony.

Apart from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), several parties in the NDA including AIADMK, Apna Dal, the Republican Party of India, the Shinde faction of Shiv Sena, NPP, and NPF have confirmed their attendance for the function on Sunday.

Several neutral parties, including Biju Janata Dal, TDP, and YSRCP will also be present for the inauguration.

Amongst the opposition parties, Shiromani Akali Dal and Bahujan Samajwadi Party and JDS will attend the function on Sunday. (ANI)