Srinagar, Oct 14: Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Conference President and MLA Handwara Sajad Lone today launched a blistering attack on the National Conference (NC), alleging that the party denied a Rajya Sabha seat to the Congress “on the orders of the BJP.”
He also announced that his party would abstain from voting in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections scheduled to be held on October 24. Lone is the only member of the party in J&K Assembly.
“I would rather die than vote for the National Conference. Stop dictating to us who we should vote for and who we should not. You cannot label us. You are not Yuvraj,” Lone said at a press conference.
He was responding to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s statement a day earlier, in which Omar described the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections as a “test of loyalty,” suggesting that “anyone who abstains or votes for the BJP is a friend of the BJP.”
Challenging the NC’s credibility, Lone said, “Today you are in the dock. You have to prove to the people of J&K that you did not deny a Rajya Sabha seat to Congress on BJP’s orders. Prove to the people of J&K that you are not sitting in BJP’s lap.”
Lone also tore into Omar Abdullah’s administrative record, accusing him of incompetence and subservience to Delhi.
“Everyone knows he cannot run an administration, yet he excels at pretending otherwise. He labels others as BJP supporters while he himself sits in their lap,” Lone said.
Accusing the NC of functioning as the BJP’s proxy in Jammu and Kashmir, Lone remarked, “You take orders from them, deny seats to other parties, and still accuse others of being aligned with BJP. You have sacrificed everyone for them and won through lies and deceit.”
Drawing a contrast between the NC and the Congress, Lone said, “Congress has consistently stood against BJP and is the only national party capable of restoring statehood. Yet you humiliate them. I have personally assured support to many Congress leaders. For NC, however, we will never vote.”
Condemning the NC government’s legacy, Lone said, “You traveled the world as foreign minister of the then BJP government, justifying killings in Kashmir. The people voted for a leader, what they got was an errand boy for BJP. You have brought disrepute to the institution of chief minister. It will take a decade to restore this institution to its former glory.”
Reaffirming his party’s stance, Lone said, “We will abstain. But we will never vote for the NC or the BJP. They are indistinguishable.”
