Jammu: Former chief minister of Jammu & Kashmir Omar Abdullah said on Tuesday that assembly polls should be held ‘as soon as possible’ in J&K to put in place an elected government to run affairs of the state, which is under the President’s rule.
The National Conference (NC) vice-president also took a dig at some politicians and bureaucrats for ‘creating hurdles’ in holding assembly elections jointly with Lok Sabha elections in the state.
“We want that polls should be held as soon as possible in the state and an elected government in the state is formed so that they run the affairs of state,” Abdullah told reporters here.
He was replying to a question whether his party wants to hold assembly and Parliamentary polls jointly in the state. The NC vice-president took note of alleged attempts being made to delay polls in the state.
“Some people do not want elections at this time. Some politicians are trying to create hurdles and also some bureaucrats want this system (Governor's rule) to continue so that their accountability is not checked,” Abdullah said.
The former chief minister also took a dig at Jammu & Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik over his reported remarks that J&K is like any other state and Patna records more murders in a day than J&K.
“To say J&K is like any other state, is wrong. If this governor, who has been governor of Bihar before, says like this, then Nitish Kumar (Bihar CM) has to clarify,” he added.
Abdullah said Article 370 and Article 35-A differentiate J&K from other states. He said his party has not changed its stand on Article 35-A, which guarantees special rights and privileges to permanent residents of the state, and is doing whatever possible to defend it.
Comments
0 comment