JK:Cong stays away from meeting of ruling alliance partners, Omar confident of support in RS polls

Srinagar, Oct 22 (PTI) Ahead of the J-K Assembly session, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday sought to play down the absence of Congress from the meeting of the ruling alliance partners and expressed confidence that the national party will ensure that the BJP does not benefit from its action in the Rajya Sabha polls.

Ties between the NC and the Congress have been strained over the division of seats for the Rajya Sabha polls in Jammu and Kashmir. The NC had invited the legislators of its allies to the meeting, but no one turned up from the Congress which had a separate legislative party meeting.

"They (Congress) have their own process. There is a difference between their party and ours. Their leadership here has to wait for the signal of their high command. We take our decisions here. This is not something new, and no one should have any problems with that," Abdullah told reporters after the meeting of the legislators from the National Conference and other allies.

He said that, traditionally, before every session, a meeting of the legislative party is called, where the independents supporting the government are also invited to prepare the strategy for the session.

"This session is different from other sessions because after 10 years, Rajya Sabha elections are taking place in J-K. The importance of this meeting increased because of the deliberations over the strategy to ensure a win for NC on all four seats," he said.

Asked if the Congress' abstention will hurt the chances of NC candidates in the Rajya Sabha polls, Abdullah said the national party has regularly maintained that they will not support the BJP and will not allow the BJP to win.

"So, let them have their meetings. No one should have any objection to that. The signal from the (Congress) high command will not be such that it will help the BJP," he said.

Abdullah thanked CPM leader M Y Tarigami and independents for attending the meeting.

"The enthusiasm I see in my members and those with us, I am hopeful that NC candidates will emerge winners on all four seats," he said.

Asked if the opposition PDP was ready to support the NC candidates, Abdullah said that while PDP president Mehbooba Mufti has not made any announcement, she has assured that the right decision will be taken after consulting her party colleagues.

"One of our candidates, Shammi Oberoi, met with Mehbooba Mufti and requested her on behalf of the party to vote in favour of the NC to make our candidates successful.

"First, our president had called Mehbooba Mufti over the phone. While the PDP has not announced anything, she has told him as well as Oberoi that she will discuss this with her party colleagues and take the right decision," he said.

On the controversial remarks by Union Minister Giriraj Singh Kishore, the chief minister said, "It is unfortunate if a Union minister says something like that." "But, these people have a habit of making such statements in elections because they have nothing to show in terms of work. Their position at the ground level is weak. So, they create a religious divide. After Namaz, they wash the area with Ganga jal," he said.

Abdullah said the BJP leadership makes claims that they represent all Indians but "remains silent" on anti-Muslim statements.

"They say they represent all Indians. If every Indian is being represented, then the PM should see to these statements and act against these ministers. Otherwise, what signal is going out?" he asked. PTI MIJ RT RT