Advertisement

Updated July 2nd, 2018 at 18:38 IST

Congress to ally with PDP to form J&K government? Here's what Omar Abdullah has to say

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah has claimed vindication over his stated opinion that the Assembly in Jammu and Kashmir should be dissolved to stop rumours of horse-trading.

Reported by: Ankit Prasad
| Image:self
Advertisement

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah has claimed vindication over his stated opinion that the Assembly in Jammu and Kashmir should be dissolved to stop rumours of horse-trading. 

Upon being asked about a potential upcoming meeting between Sonia Gandhi and Mehbooba Mufti, and the Congress allegedly making overtures to independent MLAs and smaller parties in India's north-most state, Abdullah, chief of the JKNC, said that it was just a rumour and that he was sticking with the version of senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad who had said that his party wouldn't ally with the PDP now or in the future.

Omar Abdullah, who was J&K CM in alliance with the Congress, went further to reiterate that he's not looking for elections to be held immediately, rather he wants peace to return to the Valley. He added that if his goal was to become chief minister, he would have done so by entering into an alliance.

Abdullah also hit out over the state of the Jhelum river for which Rs 400 crore had been sanctioned for dredging work, but which still flooded along with its channels in the last few days.

READ | Huge Step Towards 'One Nation One Poll': Law Commission To Submit Final Report After Upcoming All-party Meet

The Congress held a high-level meeting on Monday at the residence of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during which it was decided that the party would communicate its policies and work during UPA 1 & 2 to the people of the state over the next 2-3 months. Some of the leaders would also visit Leh and Kargil, having visited Jammu and Srinagar earlier. 

Congress' Ambika Soni said that the party would hold a massive meeting on Tuesday of former and current J&K MLAs during which the roadmap for the next state elections, which she said should be held soon, will be decided. 

Omar Abdullah had said after the fall of the Mehbooba Mufti-led government that he would not seek to form a government in the state as his party didn't have the required mandate. He had called for elections to be held in the state once normalcy was restored.

The PDP is the biggest party in the state with 28 seats while the BJP has 25, the JKNC has 15 and the Congress has 12. The seven remaining seats in the 87-member assembly belong to 'others'. The state is currently being run by the Governor after the BJP withdrew its support to the PDP on June 19.

Advertisement

Published July 2nd, 2018 at 18:34 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo