Ashiq Hussain, Hindustan Times
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah has agreed with the claim of former Governor of the state Satyapal Malik that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has brought back Ram Madhav just before the elections to form a post-poll alliance with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). When asked if Malik’s claim that Ram Madhav has been brought back to Jammu and Kashmir to form an alliance with the PDP is true, Abdullah said that Madhav is not close to any other political party in Jammu and Kashmir except the PDP.
Speaking to the media in Ganderbal in central Kashmir, Abdullah said, “He knows better because Satyapal Malik had close ties with the BJP and whatever happened in 2019 was at the hands of Malik. Now, why and for what reason Ram Madhav came here, I cannot say. Only the BJP can answer this, but there is no doubt that if Ram Madhav is close to any political party in Jammu and Kashmir, it is the PDP.”
Abdullah said Ram Madhav was the architect of bringing the BJP and PDP on one platform last time. “He was the one who forged an alliance between the two parties in 2014-15 and that is probably why he has been brought back again,” he said. “Let them get seats, then we can talk about it,” the former chief minister said.
Earlier, in a video interview given to a news portal, Malik said that RSS leader Madhav has been brought back to Jammu and Kashmir because the BJP is going to face a big defeat in the assembly elections in that region. This video clip of Malik is going viral in Kashmir. In that clip, Malik said, “They are thinking of making a compromise with Mehbooba Mufti after the elections and Ram Madhav has been brought to talk about this with Mehbooba, because he has played such an important role before.”
Let us tell you that Satyapal Malik was the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir from August 2018 to October 2019. During his tenure, the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was abolished. The state was divided into two union territories and all the political leaders of Jammu and Kashmir were put in jail.
National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah on Monday said the decision of some separatist leaders to join the assembly election process and show faith in democracy is a success for them as their stand against electoral politics and violence has been vindicated. Speaking to the media on Monday, Abdullah was asked about the decision of a former Hurriyat leader who joined the Peoples Democratic Party on Sunday.
Abdullah said, “Ideologies keep changing. Elections have come and they (some Hurriyat leaders) are ready to contest the elections. Till now, whenever we faced any election, they used to raise boycott slogans. Now they are ready to contest the elections, so somehow their ideology has changed and we have been proven right.”