Gupkar alliance should fight J&K polls together, says Omar Abdullah. BJP reacts
India Today
Former J&K CM Omar Abdullah said that the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration should fight polls in Jammu and Kashmir together to keep the BJP out of power in the region.
Omar Abdullah, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and current vice-president of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, said on Wednesday that he believes the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) should fight the Jammu and Kashmir polls together.
The People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration is a political alliance between several regional political parties in Jammu and Kashmir that have been campaigning for the restoration of special status to the region after Article 370 was abrogated in August 2019.
Omar Abdullah said, “It's my personal opinion that PAGD should fight the polls together to keep BJP and its B and C teams away so they don't divide our votes. Though I am not an office-bearer of PAGD, this is my personal opinion and the final decision lies with the alliance.”
Responding to Omar Abdullah’s statements, BJP’s J&K chief Ravinder Raina said, “Even if PAGD parties come together, J&K will not vote for them. Whenever the election is held, BJP will come to power. J&K’s next CM will be from the BJP.”
He said that Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and Ghulam Nabi Azas were “frustrated and distressed” after they saw the way people came out in large numbers for PM Modi’s recent rally in the union territory. “That’s why they want to come together,” he said.
On the loudspeaker controversy in the nation, Omar Abdullah said, “They are saying loudspeakers should be banned in mosques. We don't say loudspeakers shouldn't be used in temples - don't they use loudspeakers in temples and gurdwaras? Why objection to Muslims only?”
“Why are you forcing us not to have halal food. It's our religious obligation to have halal meat. We don't force to anyone to have halal meat. Everyone has the right to eat whatever he or she wants,” he added on the halal row.
