SRINAGAR — Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday accused the administration of adopting “double standards” in dealing with rival National Conference (NC) and BJP protests in Srinagar, alleging that one demonstration was facilitated while the other was “brutally” stopped by police.
Speaking to reporters after the protests, Omar said NC workers and elected representatives were dragged and injured when police prevented them from proceeding towards the BJP headquarters in Jawahar Nagar.
“One protest was facilitated and another protest was suppressed, brutally stopped,” Omar said, alleging that some of his party workers and colleagues were dragged and injured during the action.
He questioned why BJP workers were allowed to march towards the Chief Minister’s residence and proceed for a proposed Secretariat gherao, while the National Conference was prevented from holding a protest outside the BJP office.
“You are allowed to take a march to the Chief Minister’s residence, you are allowed to go to the Secretariat gherao, but at the same time you deny a legitimate protest by the National Conference. You are not allowed to protest outside the BJP office because the police is there to protect the honour of the BJP,” Omar said.
The Chief Minister’s remarks came after the NC protest was stopped at Raj Bagh while attempting to move towards the BJP headquarters in Jawahar Nagar. The BJP, meanwhile, marched from Lal Chowk towards the Civil Secretariat before police stopped the procession at Jehangir Chowk, with a small group of BJP leaders managing to reach near the Secretariat.
Responding to the BJP’s demand that he resign and seek a fresh mandate on the issue of statehood, Omar rejected the suggestion, saying his government had contested the elections with statehood among its key political issues.
“Why should I resign?” Omar said, questioning why the BJP, which he said had influence over the restoration of statehood, had not restored it if the issue was genuinely within its hands.
He argued that the National Conference had received a mandate from the people and said he would not resign merely to appease the Leader of Opposition.
Omar also accused the BJP of showing disrespect towards the Supreme Court and Parliament by failing to act on commitments concerning statehood.
“I won’t resign to appease the LoP. People have elected us,” he said.
On BJP allegations concerning alleged backdoor appointments and irregularities in government recruitment, Omar, according to news agency KNT, challenged the opposition to provide details of any investigation or FIR supporting its claims.
He said the elected government did not have authority over agencies such as the Anti-Corruption Bureau and Crime Branch in matters being raised by the BJP.
“If backdoor appointments have taken place, which agency has investigated them? If fraud has occurred, who has investigated it? ACB and Crime Branch are not in my control. Where is the FIR?” Omar asked.
He said allegations should be supported by evidence and investigation rather than being repeatedly raised as political accusations.
Referring to the BJP’s allegations, Omar used the expression “the pot calling the kettle black”, accusing the opposition of turning allegations back on the government without establishing the basis for its claims.
Meanwhile, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti also criticised the handling of the protests, alleging that the same police force that prevents the PDP from holding peaceful demonstrations had facilitated the NC and BJP protests in Srinagar.
“The very same police that won’t allow PDP to step outside its office to hold a peaceful protest on public issues have facilitated both BJP and NC to protest against each other,” she said in a post on X.
Mehbooba questioned who authorised what she described as selective restrictions and why different standards were being applied to political parties seeking to hold protests.
PDP leader Waheed Ur Rehman Para also criticised the NC-BJP confrontation, describing the protests as a “spectacle” amid what he termed governance failures and rising unemployment in Jammu and Kashmir.
“With governance failing in J&K and unemployment rising, they seem to be playing a fixed match with the people who voted for them,” Para said, adding that people were “not spectators” and would remember the developments.
The remarks came as NC and BJP workers held rival demonstrations in Srinagar, with police stopping both sides from proceeding towards their intended destinations.
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