Poonch: After six years of power-sharing, National Conference on Sunday said it did not compel Congress to forge an alliance with it to form government in Jammu and Kashmir and said its top brass was "belittling" the ruling party with "reckless and irresponsible" statements.
"I have not compelled you (Congress) to forge alliance with us (NC) and accept me the Chief Minister of the state for six years," JK Chief Minister Omar Abdullah told a public rally in Poonch on the last day of campaigning for second phase of JK polls on December 2. Omar and NC have been in the line of fire from the leadership of Congress including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Gulam Nabi Azad and JK Congress chief Saifuddin Soz.
The chief minister criticised Congress leadership for making "reckless and irresponsible" statements to belittle the image and popularity of NC. "National Conference never forcibly asked Congress to ally with it. It was the decision of Congress party and its leadership," he said. Omar said during over five-and-a-half year of coalition government, Congress leadership found no fault in NC or in the government led by it.
Suddenly, during elections, they are putting all the blames on NC, he said.
Omar alleged that when he took over the reigns of the state, the earlier government of Congress and PDP had left the state in dire condition. "It was my government which nurtured peace and gave development and transparency a new dimension, making people the masters and bringing the government functioning under the full public scan," he said. Omar said,"False propaganda by vested interests cannot eclipse these achievements." The NC leader also said that all "turncoats, corruption tainted persons and unscrupulous elements have camped in PDP to make fortunes" at the cost of the interests of people of Jammu and Kashmir.
"PDP, Congress, BJP and other power thirsty parties imposed elections on the people of Jammu and Kashmir who were suffering from flood devastation and had lost their crops, properties, houses and other belongings in the floods. "In fact, these parties wanted their political rehabilitation rather than the rehabilitation of the flood sufferers," he added. He said NC was the only political party which opposed the holding of elections at the time when total focus should have been on the rehabilitation of lakhs of flood-hit families. "NC had no choice but to accept the elections.
