Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], October 27 : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday hit back at People's Conference President Sajad Lone for calling the recent Rajya Sabha election a "fixed match" between the National Conference and the BJP.
Speaking to the media, CM Abdullah questioned Lone's credibility, saying someone who initially refused to participate in the polls had no right to comment.
He accused Lone of indirectly aiding the BJP by abstaining from voting and urged him to clarify his political stance, asserting that the people of Handwara didn't elect him "to stay silent or play a double role."
"Why should someone who wasn't even willing to participate in the election initially comment on anything? First, he should explain what compelled him to help the BJP. If he wanted to prevent match-fixing, he could at least have come and cast his vote. The people of Handwara didn't send him here to remain silent and play a double role. At least he should openly say whether he is with the BJP or not. When the election was announced, I said that those who don't participate or abstain are directly helping the BJP," the J-K CM said.
Omar Abdullah termed the allegations as "baseless", emphasising that the only party taking on the BJP in Jammu and Kashmir is the National Conference.
"There is no understanding... At the end of the day, today, the only party that is taking the BJP head-on in J&K is the National Conference. We are the ones who contested against them in the Rajya Sabha elections, nobody else... These claims that the NC has a secret understanding with the BJP are baseless... We did everything we could. I have no regrets that we could have done more. Now, if some people have sold their conscience, we are not to blame," he said.
On October 25, JKPC President Sajad Lone posted on X and alleged that the National Conference had a "dialogue" with the BJP in the Rajya Sabha polls.
"Dr Farooq sahib has claimed that BJP offered them a deal for three Rajya Sabha seats. That means a dialogue mechanism exists between the two parties. That means they had a dialogue about Rajya Sabha. Wonder whether they informed their allies that they were having a dialogue with the BJP. Isn't that what we have been saying all along. Fixed match," Lone posted on X.
The ruling Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) won three out of four Rajya Sabha seats from Jammu and Kashmir on Friday.
According to the party, senior JKNC leader Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Jammu and Kashmir, winning by 58 votes. Fellow party members, Sajad Kichloo and Shammi Oberoi, were also declared winners.
Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir BJP resident Sat Paul Sharma won with 32 votes, leaving NC's Imran Nabi Dar with 22 votes.