Srinagar: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said that the attack on Jammu and Kashmir’s special status began not in 2019, but in 2015 when the PDP joined hands with the BJP to form the government.
Addressing an election rally in Mirgund area of Budgam, Abdullah accused the PDP of enabling the BJP’s agenda, claiming it was under their coalition rule that key decisions undermining J&K’s autonomy were introduced.
“The BJP has caused the maximum damage to Jammu and Kashmir. Everything was taken from us — our map changed, our identity is under threat, and our special status is gone,” Abdullah said. “But the assault didn’t start in 2019; it began in 2015 when the PDP entered into an alliance with the BJP.”
The National Conference (NC) leader alleged that the PDP betrayed public trust by forming the alliance despite campaigning on keeping the BJP out during the 2014 elections.
“Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and his daughter went door to door asking people to vote for them to stop the BJP. But once the votes were counted, they joined hands with the very party they opposed,” he said.
Abdullah blamed the PDP for introducing measures such as GST and the SARFAESI Act, calling them the “first steps” towards the erosion of J&K’s autonomy.
“If today I am the Chief Minister of a Union Territory and not a state, it is because of them,” he remarked. “They struck at our roots while in government.”
The Chief Minister said the PDP had never apologised for its “mistake” and urged its leaders to publicly admit their role in weakening J&K’s position.
Speaking about the upcoming Budgam Assembly bypoll on November 11, Abdullah clarified that the outcome would not affect the government but could influence local development.
“This election will not decide who the Chief Minister will be — that was settled last year. But it will decide Budgam’s future,” he said. “The government still has four years left, and electing an NC candidate means faster development for the constituency.”
Abdullah described the NC candidate, Aga Syed Mehmood, as someone with “the backing of both the cabinet and the Chief Minister,” adding humorously,
“Budgam will have two MLAs — a buy-one-get-one-free offer.”
He said being part of the government brings tangible benefits for development.
“I have been an MLA in the government and in the opposition. I could do much more in Ganderbal than in Beerwah when I was not in power,” Abdullah noted.
Reiterating his stand against aligning with the BJP, Abdullah said his party was being “punished” for refusing to compromise.
“We are being targeted because we didn’t join the BJP. Had we done that, statehood would have been restored by now and governance would have been much easier,” he said.
Abdullah asserted that the National Conference was the only party directly confronting the BJP in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Ask the PDP who their candidate is in Nagrota — they have none. We fielded one so that there’s at least a contest against the BJP. Congress backed out at the last minute; they’re all working together,” he alleged.
Maintaining that the NC does not practice “politics of deceit,” Abdullah said,
“We are what we are — right or wrong, we leave it to the people to decide.”
Highlighting development work in Budgam, Abdullah said projects worth ₹110 crore had been executed in the constituency despite his vacating the seat last year.
“I may not be the MLA of Budgam anymore, but I have ensured that it gets as much attention and funding as Ganderbal,” he said.
He also pledged to establish a university in Budgam and proposed that the district host Kashmir’s new international cricket stadium and academy.
“Budgam is the ideal location — close to the airport, railway, and the new highway. There’s no better place for international and IPL-level cricket,” he said.
