Former chief minister and National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah on Friday alleged that the BJP government is trying to silence no other politician in Jammu and Kashmir except him.
Omar claimed that a conspiracy was being hatched against him by fielding candidates from jails.
“I knew that Delhi would make an effort to silence me. But I never thought they would go to this extent,” Omar said while addressing a poll rally in Ganderbal.
Omar said it all started in Baramulla, where he unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections.
“In Baramulla, when one person (Abdul Rashid Sheikh, aka Engineer Rashid) stood against me, he filed his papers while in jail. He recorded his message from jail and sought votes based on emotions. He defeated me in the polls,” Omar said.
The NC leader said he initially did not see this as something worrisome.
“I thought that since this person had contested elections earlier, this time too he tried his luck and won. Beyond that, I didn’t see it as a conspiracy. I didn’t see it as part of Delhi’s agenda. I thought it was just my bad luck that he won,” Omar explained.
He added that when he decided to contest the assembly polls from Ganderbal, reports emerged that another citizen (jailed cleric Sarjan Ahmad Wagay, alias Barkati), would contest against him.
“I began to wonder why these people are being set against me alone. They bring them from jail to contest against me. Is there a conspiracy?” he asked.
Abdullah said he could understand Engineer Rashid contesting the Lok Sabha polls against him as he was a local from the constituency.
“When they couldn’t find a local person from Ganderbal in jail, they brought one (Barkati) from Zainapora-Shopian. I still had doubts and thought it might be a coincidence. I consulted with a few colleagues and told them I wanted to prove that this was a conspiracy from Delhi against me. To prove it, I decided to fight from another seat,” he said.
Omar is contesting from two assembly constituencies of Ganderbal and Budgam.
Omar said to prove it was a conspiracy they decided not to reveal from which seat they would file papers.
“We collected forms and decided to make the final decision in the morning. It was proven yesterday that this is not a coincidence – people are being fielded from jail specifically to contest against me. Otherwise, why would this person (Barkati) file papers in Ganderbal and then collect papers from Beerwah, assuming I would contest from there as I was an MLA there? But when I filed papers from Budgam in the afternoon, they were caught off guard, as they had prepared for Beerwah,” he said.
“From this, you can understand that in Jammu and Kashmir, especially in Kashmir, no other politician is being targeted – only me,” he said.
Omar stated that Delhi is targeting him because he speaks for the people of J&K.
“When I speak, I talk about your emotions. I speak about the people’s problems and our lost dignity. When I take off my cap, it’s not just my dignity – it’s everyone’s dignity. If there’s any diminishment in your honor, how can my honor increase?” he asked.
“When I fight with Delhi, I do not fight just for myself or my family. The fight we are fighting today is for all of Jammu and Kashmir, and this doesn’t sit well with the BJP. That’s why one conspiracy after another is being hatched. But such a conspiracy can only succeed once. This time, I have full faith in the people of Ganderbal, especially the Khag block, that they will vote wisely,” he said.
After filing his nomination papers from Budgam on Thursday, Omar had said that contesting from two seats was not a sign of weakness but of the strength of the National Conference. After the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, Omar had taken a stand that he would not contest Assembly elections until statehood was restored. However, Omar broke his vow and joined the polls fray.
