Omar: EC taking directions from BJP to delay J&K Assembly polls

A day after the National Conference emerged as the single largest party in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) polls for Kargil, party vice-president Omar Abdullah blamed the Centre as well as the Election Commission of India for delaying J&K polls.

Referring to CEC Rajiv Kumar’s statement at a press conference on Monday where he remarked J&K elections will be considered “at an appropriate time”, Omar said, “It is unfortunate that even today, they are saying that they need to consider other factors. I want to ask them what are these factors? We feel that there is only one factor, which is fear.” Abdullah said that the BJP was earlier hiding behind the Raj Bhawan and is now using the EC as a shield. “Instead of taking their decisions independently, the EC is taking directions from the BJP,” he said.

Abdullah also questioned the state of security in J&K and said, “Since August 5, 2019 it has been projected that the situation has turned around in Kashmir. If this is true, then let us know what are the factors responsible for denying the people of J&K their democratic right to a government.”