Omar Abdullah Hits Back After PM Modi Slams NC For Seeking Prime Minister's Post in Jammu & Kashmir
PM Modi had launched an offensive on the constituents of Mahagathbandhan, charging them of supporting a 'dangerous proposition' of 2 Prime Ministers in 1 nation.
Secunderabad, April 1: Former Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah struck back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the latter lambasted the Congress over its ally National Conference's demand seeking "PM post" for J&K. Abdullah said his party's demand is compliant with the provisions of the Indian Constitution.
"It’s what the terms of accession guaranteed J&K. It’s what the Constitution of India, the same Constitution you take an oath to uphold, guaranteed J&K. All we ask is what the Constitution gave to J&K," Abdullah said, hours after Modi lashed out at the Opposition parties which share cordial relations with the National Conference. Article 35-A Will be Revoked by 2020 if BJP Returns to Power, Says Amit Shah.
Earlier in the day, PM Modi had launched an offensive on the constituents of Mahagathbandhan, charging them of supporting a "dangerous proposition" of 2 Prime Ministers in 1 nation. Modi said the the Trinamool Congress, NCP and TDP, to spell out their stand on their ally NC's demand.
Addressing a rally in Maharashtra's Wardha, Modi said Abdullah and his National Conference want the "clock (of history) to be turned back" but it was not acceptable to the BJP.Till 1965, the Head of State of Jammu and Kashmir used to be called 'Sadr-e-Riyasat' (meaning President) while the elected Head of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir would be called 'Wazir-e-Azam' (meaning Prime Minister). These nomenclatures were then abolished and replaced with the Governor and the Chief Minister, respectively.
Watch PM Modi Targeting Mahagathbandhan:
"An ally of the Congress party, a very strong member of the 'mahagathbandhan', the National Conference has given a statement in which they have said that there should be a separate Prime Minister for Kashmir," Modi said, referring to the remarks made by Omar Abdullah earlier in the day that he would like to restore the posts of "President" and "Prime Minister" for the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
"They (NC) say that they will take Kashmir back in time and create a scenario wherein there will be two Prime Ministers in India -- one for (Jammu and) Kashmir and one for rest of the country. The Congress party will have to answer as to how its ally has dared to say such a thing," Modi said.
The PM also asked West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu to spell out their stand on the issue.Referring to Mamata, he said, "Bangal ki Didi should make her stand clear.... Sharad Pawar has been the Defence Minister of the country and former Chief Minister of Maharashtra. I also want to ask him about his stand... I also want to know what is the stand of 'U-turn Babu' (Chandrababu Naidu)."
He also added, "You should not forget that a few days ago, a leader of the National Conference had resorted to sloganeering in favour of Pakistan."Asserting that the "politics of dividing the nation" has already caused a lot of damage to the country, the Prime Minister said, "We are ready to sacrifice our lives for the people of Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, but we will not tolerate such wheelers and dealers of Kashmir."
(With ANI inputs)
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 01, 2019 10:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).