SRINAGAR: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday asserted that he would resign rather than aligning with BJP for the restoration of state status to Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory.
“After last year’s elections, we had an option to align with BJP (which was experimented in 2015). Had I wanted, I would have included BJP in the government the way late Mufti Sayeed did in 2015 and Mehbooba Mufti did in 2016. Then also, the government could have been formed without BJP as Congress and NC were ready to support PDP to keep BJP away from the government.
They aligned with BJP on the pretext of giving Jammu a representation”. Abdullah said in his government without BJP’s inclusion,
“We have given representation to Jammu. We gave representation to Pir Panjal and the Dy CM is from Jammu without the inclusion of BJP”.
The CM said had the BJP been included in the government, “they would have immediately restored our statehood as a gift”.
Asserting that he is not ready to align with the saffron party, the CM said, “I am not ready to make any such deal. If including BJP in government is a must for getting statehood back, then I am ready to resign and let anybody else be elected as CM because I am not ready for it”. “If I have to wait for restoration of statehood, I will do it but won’t align with BJP,” Omar said.
Ruling out an agitational path for restoration of statehood, the CM said, “Those who tell me why you don’t come out on roads to protest for restoration of statehood should see Ladakh’s situation”.
“How much blood of youth do you want to see being spilled? I am not ready for that. We will fight but democratically and peacefully. We will achieve our rights within the scope of the constitution and law but I am not ready to destroy people’s homes,” Abdullah added.