JKNC getting closer to BJP, claims report; party spokesperson refutes

New Delhi: The ruling Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) is inching closer to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with former chief minister Farooq Abdullah having opened back-channel communications with the saffron party’s central leadership, according to a Srinagar-based English daily, Rising Kashmir.

However, Tanvir Sadiq, MLA and party's chief spokesperson was quick to deny such reports. In a post on X, Sadiq said, "A Barefaced Lie by @RisingKashmir and its correspondent Arvind Sharma have proven to be barefaced liars, peddling fiction instead of facts. Let’s set the record straight."

A Barefaced Lie by @RisingKashmir Kashmir

Rising Kashmir and its correspondent Arvind Sharma have proven to be barefaced liars, peddling fiction instead of facts. Let’s set the record straight. Dr Farooq Abdullah Sb has not been in Delhi for the past four days meeting BJP… pic.twitter.com/PT4AAI6NeX

— Tanvir Sadiq (@tanvirsadiq) February 11, 2025

"Dr Farooq Abdullah Sb has not been in Delhi for the past four days meeting BJP leaders. He was in Bombay and only transited briefly through Delhi on his way there. At no point did he meet any BJP leaders," MLA Sadiq added.

The senior Abdullah has been in Delhi for the past four days and engaged in discussions with top BJP leadership, according to the report.

Quoting highly placed sources, the newspaper reported that the JKNC is keen on fulfilling key promises from its election manifesto, particularly the restoration of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir, which was downgraded to a Union Territory (UT) in 2019 along with the abrogation of Article 370.

This has reportedly prompted Farooq Abdullah to engage in talks with top BJP leaders in Delhi, the report said.

Quoting sources, the newspaper claimed that Farooq Abdullah had apparently paved the way for a meeting between Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Monday.

Subsequently, a report said that Omar Abdullah called on Shah on Monday and the two discussed various issues related to law and order in the UT and changes in industrial and tourism policies to give a boost to these two sectors.

During the meeting, which lasted for 30 minutes, officials said the chief minister briefed Shah about the situation in J&K after the two recent incidents -- the death of a person by suicide in Kathua in Jammu, and the shooting of a truck driver after he did not stop at a checkpoint in Sopore in north Kashmir.

After these incidents that took place on February 4 and 5, the chief minister said that incidents like these "risk alienating the very people who we need to carry with us on the road to complete normalcy".

"I have taken up these incidents with the Union Government and insisted that both incidents are inquired into in a time-bound, transparent manner. The Government in J and K will also order its own inquiries," Abdullah had said in a post on X.

I have seen the reports of excessive use of force & harassment of Makhan Din in police custody in Billawar leading to his suicide and the death of Waseem Ahmed Malla, shot by the army under circumstances that are not entirely clear. Both these incidents are highly unfortunate and…

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) February 6, 2025

During the meeting on Monday, the chief minister is believed to have conveyed to the home minister the need to take the people of the UT into confidence and that as the public representative of the people, his government should have a say in maintaining the law and order, the officials said.

The Rising Kashmir further claimed that Omar Abdullah, in the coming days, is also expected to hold discussions with other senior BJP leaders and union ministers.

“There is a strong possibility that NC may move closer to the BJP in the larger interest of J&K,” the report said quoting the sources, hinting at realignment in the region’s political landscape.

It also claimed that all is not well between the JKNC and the Congress, which formed a coalition government in J&K in October last year. Tensions between the two allies have surfaced repeatedly, with both parties issuing conflicting statements.

Due to these differences, the Congress is yet to formally join the NC-led government, despite three ministerial positions remaining vacant. With the budget session approaching, the continued delay in cabinet expansion signals that Congress is unlikely to become part of the government.