BJP calls NC’s Statehood protest an eyewash, Omar says party won’t compromise values
Jammu and Kashmir Assembly’s Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma on Wednesday labelled the ruling National Conference’s proposed protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar over restoration of statehood as an “eyewash”, saying that the Abdullah government was trying to divert people’s attention from its ‘zero-governance’.
“It is an eyewash,” Sharma told reporters in Srinagar when asked about the National Conference protest.
The NC had announced a sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar on the first day of the monsoon session of Parliament to remind the Centre of its promise of restoring statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
“People are demanding electricity, but I have not seen any review meetings taking place. There is a lack of clean drinking water, but this government is not making clean and safe drinking water available to the people,” he said.
“There is rampant corruption, and it is impossible to get work done without it. The situation created by these six (council of) ministers is one of corruption only, with no governance. There is zero-governance, zero-performance, on the ground,” he added.
The BJP leader said that, unlike other states, where the chief ministers meet people and conduct public outreach programmes, “the CM (Omar Abdullah) here only meets his own party legislators”.
“He (Abdullah) should meet people, hold a review meeting, interact with officers, take information, and meet the people on the ground. To divert the attention of the people from their lack of performance and worthlessness, they have come up with this Jantar Mantar programme, with which I have a huge problem,” he said.
On the other hand, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday asserted that the National Conference would never compromise its principles or “sell its morals” for power, saying the party’s ideology and commitment to the people cannot be traded regardless of changing political equations.
Reacting to the question of MPs from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Shiv Sena (UBT) backing the NDA on certain issues, Omar said no offer or political arrangement could persuade the National Conference to abandon its core values.
