‘Duo knew about revocation of Article 370'

Northlines Newsdesk

Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, the top leaders of the National Conference, met in private at night with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, according to Ghulam Nabi Azad, the Democratic Progressive Azad Party chief and a former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.

Azad further said that the Abdullahs were dishonest. In a special interview with India Today TV, Ghulam Nabi Azad stated that the Abdullahs “say one thing in Srinagar, another in Jammu, and something else in Delhi”.

He also cited an interview in which Farooq Abdullah made a suggestion that he would eventually join the BJP-led NDA alliance in order to further support his points. Omar Abdullah, his son and the previous chief minister of J&K, later refuted this, though.

“What Farooq said to India Today was not a verbal error. Azad stated that Farooq and Omar are attempting to win over both the opposition and the administration.

Farooq Abdullah alludes to the NC standing alone in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.

The former chief minister of J&K announced that the National Conference will contest on all seats in the next Lok Sabha and Assembly elections at its own thus dealing a severe blow to the INDI Alliance.

He did not, however, completely rule out the possibility of them joining the NDA again. The veteran politician from J&K claimed that negotiations over seat sharing with the INDI Alliance parties had broken down and all know it.

“As far as seat-sharing is concerned, I want to make it clear the National Conference will contest elections on its own strength. There are no two opinions about it,” he told reporters.

To a question – “Were Abdullahs and the BJP discussing the formation of an alliance in 2014?”

Azad startlingly asserted that in 2014, the Abdullahs attempted with all efforts to explore the alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for Government formation.

He went on to say that both the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by Mehbooba Mufti, and the National Conference were vying to form a government in Jammu and Kashmir alongside the BJP.

Azad responded affirmative while responding to a question as to “Were Omar and Farooq Abdullah aware of the revocation of Article 370?”

Ghulam Nabi Azad asserted that on August 3, 2019, a meeting between the Abdullahs and Prime Minister Modi took place prior to the revocation of Article 370. Additionally, reports indicated that the decision to place leaders under house arrest was discussed with the Abdullahs in confidence.