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Tag: Farooq Abdullah

  • Dissident NC MLAs to Meet Farooq Abdullah Today

    Dissident NC MLAs to Meet Farooq Abdullah Today

    Dissident legislators of the ruling National Conference (NC) in Jammu and Kashmir are likely to meet party president Farooq Abdullah in Srinagar on Friday to raise their grievances following the recent cabinet reshuffle, party sources said.

    Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is also expected to attend the meeting, as the party leadership tries to pacify legislators who are unhappy at being left out of the council of ministers.

    The discontent follows the cabinet expansion on October 27, in which four new ministers were inducted, taking the council of ministers to its maximum permissible statutory limit of nine. The expansion left several senior leaders out of the ministry, including six-time MLA Mubarak Gul.

    Following the expansion, scores of party workers staged protests over the exclusion of Mubarak Gul, the MLA from Eidgah. Some of the dissatisfied legislators had earlier met at one place, but they did not reveal what was discussed at that meeting.

    Party sources said the disgruntled legislators have raised a number of organisational and administrative concerns with the top leadership and have sought a formal audience to press their case. The meeting on Friday is expected to give them an opportunity to place their demands directly before the party president and the chief minister.

    The resentment is not limited to one constituency. Several senior leaders are said to be unhappy with the way the cabinet expansion was carried out, and the leadership is keen to prevent the discontent from spilling into the open. The party is aware that any public display of division could weaken its position at a time when it is trying to consolidate its hold on the government.

    The ruling National Conference has officially played down reports of any internal rebellion or external threat to the government. The party has described the meeting of MLAs as a routine pre-Darbar move social gathering over lunch, and has sought to project an image of unity within its ranks.

    The Darbar move is the traditional biannual shifting of the seat of government between Srinagar and Jammu, and the meeting has been scheduled just ahead of it. Party insiders say the leadership wants to settle the matter before the move so that the government can function smoothly in the winter capital.

    It remains to be seen whether Friday’s meeting will settle the grievances of the dissident legislators or whether the discontent within the party will continue in the coming days. The outcome of the meeting will be watched closely by political observers in the Union Territory.

  • Farooq Abdullah remark on Pakistan sparks BJP backlash

    Farooq Abdullah remark on Pakistan sparks BJP backlash

    National Conference president Farooq Abdullah has triggered a fresh political controversy in Jammu and Kashmir after remarks he made while addressing party workers in Baramulla, in north Kashmir, on Saturday, October 24. According to Daijiworld Media Network, Abdullah said Pakistan was “protecting” the people of Jammu and Kashmir by raising the Kashmir issue at international forums, a statement that has drawn sharp criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

    Addressing the gathering, Abdullah questioned whether the people of Jammu and Kashmir could expect justice from the Centre. “What can you expect from Delhi? Do you expect them to deliver justice for you? Have the courage to fight them, or you will be wiped out, and your identity will disappear,” he said, according to the report.

    Without directly naming Pakistan, the National Conference president referred to the neighbouring country’s efforts to raise the Kashmir issue internationally, suggesting that these efforts were keeping the region’s concerns alive. “They are silent today because of the pressure from the world. Our neighbour is constantly after them. He goes everywhere saying that the Kashmir issue has not been resolved. He is protecting us; otherwise, their intentions are not good,” he said.

    Abdullah urged the people of Jammu and Kashmir to stand united for their rights, warning their identity and future could be at risk. At the same time, he maintained that the people of the region had never rejected their Indian identity, saying they had repeatedly affirmed their accession to India. “We never said that we are not Indians. Time and time again, we affirmed that we acceded to India — to the India of Mahatma Gandhi, the India of Jawaharlal Nehru, the India of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad,” he said.

    The former chief minister also criticised the Centre’s policies, alleging that they had kept the people of Jammu and Kashmir dependent rather than enabling them to become self-reliant, and said people could safeguard their dignity, honour and rights only by standing on their own feet.

    Abdullah also raised concerns over the mandatory service requirements for medical students and doctors in Jammu and Kashmir, saying those who fail to complete two years of service in villages, hospitals and other designated areas must pay Rs 40 lakh to the administration. He further alleged that files were being delayed despite the division of responsibilities between the Lieutenant Governor and the elected government, and that statehood had not been restored even two years after commitments made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

    The remarks drew a strong reaction from the Jammu and Kashmir BJP. Party spokesperson Altaf Thakur condemned the National Conference president for portraying Pakistan as a force working in the interests of Kashmiris while questioning the Centre’s intentions, describing his remarks as “seditious and anti-national” and demanding that he be booked. “It was deeply unfortunate that a senior political leader was questioning India’s intentions towards the people of Jammu and Kashmir while projecting Pakistan as a force working in their interest,” Thakur said.

    The controversy has once again brought the political differences between the National Conference and the BJP over Jammu and Kashmir’s political future and the restoration of statehood into focus, with the BJP demanding legal action and Abdullah standing by his call for unity and rights.