National Conference leader and MLA, Tanvir Sadiq on Wednesday hit back at Leader of Opposition Sunil Kumar Sharma over his remarks targeting the Omar Abdullah-led government, saying the BJP leader had “forgotten the politics of Jammu and Kashmir” after returning from Assam.
Reacting to Sharma’s statement that the NC is a sinking ship and will drown at any cost, Sadiq, who is also the chief spokesman of the ruling party, said the BJP leader was disconnected from the political realities of Jammu and Kashmir and was making baseless remarks out of fear of losing his position as Leader of Opposition.
“He is dreaming. He has come from Assam and forgotten the politics of J&K. I want to wake him up again.
I will go to his house and make him drink coffee so that he understands this is Jammu and Kashmir, not Assam,” Sadiq told reporters in Srinagar.
Sharma served as the Election Co-Incharge (Saha Prabhari) for the 2026 Assam Assembly Elections.
The NC leader said the people of Jammu and Kashmir had given a decisive mandate to the National Conference and rejected both the BJP and PDP.
“People have taken a big part in the elections and given the mandate to the National Conference, not to BJP and not to PDP. The National Conference is here to stay, and even after five years, it will return to power,” he said.
Defending references to marathons and sports activities, Sadiq said such events promoted a healthy lifestyle and reflected public engagement.
“Those who play cricket, football and participate in sports know the value of such activities. They keep talking about running and marathons because they do not understand anything else,” he remarked.
Sadiq further alleged that Sharma was under pressure within his own party. “They failed in the Assembly and now they are afraid that even the post of Leader of Opposition may be taken away. That is why he is making such statements,” he added.
The NC leader also rejected PDP allegations of backdoor appointments, accusing the party of indulging in corruption and irregularities during its tenure in government.
He challenged PDP leaders to identify even a single case of corruption involving the present National Conference government or its ministers.
“Let them identify one person who can say that even one rupee was taken by our government or any minister. Otherwise, the whole world knows how their own relatives used to sit with lists deciding rates for transfers and postings,” he said.
Without naming any individual, Sadiq alleged that PDP leaders had institutionalised corruption and were now levelling “false accusations” against the NC government. He claimed that transfer postings were allegedly monetised during the PDP regime and said repeated allegations by the party were an attempt to divert attention from its own record.
Responding to criticism over the liquor sale, Sadiq also drew a comparison between the PDP and National Conference tenures. He said no offline liquor licence was issued during the 15 years tenure of former finance minister Abdul Rahim Rather or under Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in the last one-and-a-half years.
“Not a single offline liquor licence was issued during NC rule, but nearly 100 licences were issued during the PDP government,” he alleged, adding that questions should instead be directed at the PDP over the issuance in liquor licences during its tenure.
