New Delhi, November 22: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary Ram Madhav on Thursday took back his charge of 'Pakistan's hand' in the alliance of the National Conference (NC), People's Democratic Party (PDP) and Congress for government formation in Jammu and Kashmir. While retracting his statement, Ram Madhav also took a jibe at NC leader Omar Abdullah and dared him to contest fresh polls with the PDP.

"Now tht u deny any external pressure I take back my comment, bt, now tht u proved it ws genuine love btw NC n PDP tht prompted a failed govt formation attempt,u shud fight nxt elections 2gether. Mind u it’s  pol comnt,not personal (sic)," Madhav tweeted. The tweet was in response to Omar's challenge to him to prove how Pakistan was involved in the allaince of the PDP, NC and Congress. Jammu And Kashmir Assembly Dissolution: What it Means For PDP, NC And BJP.

It all began when Ram Madhav alleged that the coming together of his National Conference, PDP and Congress to form a government was at the behest of Pakistan. Hitting back at the BJP leader, Omar tweeted: "I dare you @rammadhavbjpji to prove your allegation. You have RAW, NIA and IB at your command (CBI too is your parrot), so have the guts to place evidence in the public domain. Either prove this or be man enough to apologise. Don't practice shoot and scoot politics."

Madhav responded: "Just take it in your stride @OmarAbdullah -- not questioning your patriotism at all. But the sudden love between NC and PDP and the hurry to form government leads to many suspicions and political comments. Not (intended) to offend you."

The NC leader then retorted: "No, misplaced attempts at humour won't work. You have claimed my party has been acting at the behest of Pakistan. I dare you to prove it! Place the evidence of your allegation of NC boycott of ULB polls at Pakistan's behest in public domain. It's an open challenge to you and your government."

Madhav's allegations came in an interview on Wednesday hours ahead of Governor Satya Pal Malik's move ordering the state assembly dissolved with "immediate effect". Barely an hour before the dissolution of the assembly, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and People's Conference leader Sajjad Lone staked claim to form the government.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 22, 2018 03:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).