Sajad Lone hits out at Omar Abdullah’s ‘true test’ claim, says won’t vote for NC or BJP in Rajya Sabha polls: ‘They are indistinguishable’

On Tuesday, Handwara MLA Lone announced that his party would abstain from voting in the Rajya Sabha elections, asserting that he would not vote for the NC nor the BJP. “They are indistinguishable,” he said.

“Stop dictating to us who we should vote for and who we should not. You cannot label us. You are not a prince,” Lone said in a press conference.

Lashing out at the Omar Abdullah administration, Lone claimed, “Everyone knows he cannot run an administration, yet he excels at pretending otherwise. He labels others as BJP supporters while he himself is indistinguishable from the BJP.”

He said it was the NC, not other parties, that is “in the dock”. “NC has to prove to the people of J&K that you did not deny a Rajya Sabha seat to Congress on BJP’s orders,” Lone said.

Rejecting claims that abstention signals support for the BJP, Lone added that he would not be surprised if Omar accuses the Congress of having a “pact” with the BJP.

He accused the NC of having “forfeited” public trust, saying that the NC is functioning as the BJP’s “proxy” in J&K.

“You take orders from them, deny seats to other parties, and still accuse others of being aligned with the BJP. You have sacrificed everyone for them and won through lies and deceit,” he said.

Contrasting the NC with the Congress, Lone said, “Congress has consistently stood against the 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.”

He also condemned the NC government’s legacy, saying, “You travelled 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 the BJP. You have brought disrepute to the institution of Chief Minister. It will take a decade to restore this institution to its former glory.”

From the homepage

Is Delhi BJP govt playing with fire on crackers? The test comes tomorrow

‘Everyone regardless of faith or heritage, has the right to feel safe’: Australian Minister Anne Aly after anti-India protests

Last chance for Virat Kohli to figure out where his off-stump is