 "Omar Abdullah accuses police of double standards on protest permissions, slams centre over statehood delay")
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday accused the administration and police of adopting “double standards” while dealing with protests by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the National Conference (NC) in Srinagar.
Reacting to the contrasting treatment of the two parties, Abdullah said the BJP was allowed to hold its protest, while the National Conference was denied permission.
“You saw the BJP being allowed to protest and the National Conference not being allowed to protest. Don’t tell me you saw parallel protests in Srinagar,” Omar Abdullah told journalists.
“That is what you saw today. So please don’t draw false equivalence, because there is no equivalence in the way in which the two parties were treated by the administration, by the police. One was facilitated and one was brutally repressed,” he said.
Abdullah alleged that several of his colleagues were dragged and injured during the protest, with some requiring treatment at a hospital.
“Colleagues of mine were dragged; they were injured. Some of them had to seek treatment in hospital. So that was what was done with the National Conference. The BJP was escorted,” he said.
Pointing towards journalists who had covered the BJP protest, Abdullah said, “You were there. I saw many of you accompanying that protest. The ease with which you were able to interview the Leader of the Opposition during their protest was seen by all of us.”
“So please don’t say that you saw two protests. You didn’t. You saw one. And you saw one protest that was denied,” he added.
Abdullah further criticised the police, alleging that different standards were being applied depending on whom the protest was directed against.
“If you want to march on the Chief Minister’s residence, you’re allowed to. If you want to gherao the Secretariat, you’re allowed to. But if you want to protest outside the BJP’s office, God forbid, you are not allowed to go, because the police here exist only to protect the dignity of the BJP and they know nothing else,” he said.
On the demand by the Leader of the Opposition that Omar Abdullah should resign and seek a fresh mandate over the issue of statehood, the Chief Minister said the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly had already passed a resolution on the matter.
“So let us assume that this government is not going to give that statehood. If that is the case, then for God’s sake why don’t we hear this reality from the Central government?” Abdullah said.
“If these people really want to tear the Constitution of India to shreds, disrupt the Supreme Court, disrespect Parliament, and prove Modi’s promise false, then let them do it,” he added.
Rejecting calls for his resignation, Abdullah said he would not step down to satisfy the Leader of the Opposition.
“I will not resign for the happiness of the Leader of the Opposition. The people of Jammu and Kashmir have given us a five-year mandate. We will present our report after five years,” he said.
Responding to allegations against his government, Abdullah said the Jammu and Kashmir administration did not have control over several agencies that could investigate the issues being raised.
“The allegations that have been levelled against me, please tell me, my government does not even have the power to investigate them,” he said.
Targeting the Leader of the Opposition, Abdullah asked what investigations had been conducted into allegations of backdoor appointments and fraud.
“So Leader of the Opposition sahib, please tell us what investigations were carried out. If backdoor appointments took place, which agency investigated them? Just point out one,” he said.
“If there was any fraud, the Anti-Corruption Bureau is not under my control, the Crime Branch is not under my control, the CID is not under my control, and the central agencies is a different matter altogether. Tell me, where exactly did this injustice take place?” Abdullah asked.
Calling the allegations baseless, he said the BJP was targeting his government because it had nothing else to say.
“These are baseless allegations from the BJP’s side, because they have nothing else to say. They themselves fail every day and make us the target,” he said.
Taking a further swipe at the BJP, Abdullah said, “As the saying goes, the thief scolds the policeman. Here we are suffering for their sins, and we are trying to correct things.”
Reacting to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s statement in the United States, Abdullah said there was a difference between making a statement and implementing it on the ground.
“One thing is to make a statement; another is to implement it. The truth is that whatever the RSS chief said, he said it well; he said it in America. But on the ground, no one is implementing it,” Abdullah said.
He cited difficulties faced by Muslims in finding accommodation outside Jammu and Kashmir.
“Being a Muslim, just try going outside Jammu and Kashmir and attempt to rent a house somewhere. I will see whether you get it or not,” he said.
“How many of our children who have gone to the rest of the country either for education or for jobs today cannot find a place to stay, only because their religion is Islam?” Abdullah asked.
“So, it is a very good thing that the RSS chief said this. I would want the people of India to implement this. Then I will say that they really said this, and they said it correctly,” he added.
On the issue of quashing FIRs against members of what he termed the “cockroach party”, Abdullah said the BJP had been “on the back foot” for some time.
“BJP has been on the back foot for a long time now, ever since the Congress party started this and then Gen Z took the matter forward. They are on the back foot and will remain on the back foot until then. Let’s see,” he said.
Addressing concerns over Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF), Abdullah said his government had already released funds and begun preparations, without waiting for developments in Nepal.
“On that, we had already released a certain amount. We did not wait for Nepal. We already knew that this series of calls and invitations was going on, so that a Nepal-like incident does not happen in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
“This process is continuing. Whatever advice the experts have given us is being followed,” Abdullah added.
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