Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday accused the BJP of pursuing “blackmail politics” over the issue of statehood and said the delay in cabinet expansion was linked to the Union Territory’s status and not due to any fear within the ruling National Conference.Responding to remarks by the Leader of Opposition in the J&K Assembly, Abdullah said there was “no Eknath Shinde in the National Conference” and asserted that all party legislators stood united.
“It is obvious that the LoP is impatient to sit on the chair of Jammu and Kashmir’s minister,” Abdullah told reporters here.
Referring to the ongoing debate around delimitation, the chief minister alleged that the exercise in J&K was carried out “only to benefit the BJP and its friends”.
“We suffered their delimitation and we know about delimitation. It was done only to benefit BJP and BJP’s friends,” he said.Abdullah said the cabinet expansion had not been stalled due to political instability but because Jammu and Kashmir was yet to regain statehood.
“Cabinet expansion has stopped because we have not been given the status of a state. Cabinet expansion has not stopped because of fear,” he said.
The chief minister further accused the BJP of trying to obstruct the functioning of the elected government in Jammu and Kashmir.“LoP sahib proves with his statements that until BJP gets a government here, they will not let us work properly and they will not make Jammu and Kashmir a state,” he said.
He alleged that the people of Jammu and Kashmir were being “threatened in the name of statehood” and said those who voted for the BJP in the last election should remember that the party was indulging in “blackmail politics”.Abdullah also referred to Supreme Court observations and past precedents regarding government formation, saying the single largest party should be invited to form the government and given an opportunity to prove its majority on the floor of the House.“There is no reason to stop this process. BJP should be allowed to form a government. If they prove their majority in the Assembly, they will remain. If they do not prove it, they will have to resign,” he said.