Scoffing at the BJP’s “Sankalp Patra”, its manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections, National Conference leader and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said it was aimed at the “destruction” of the erstwhile state.
The National Conference leader, according to Kashmir Media Service, said: “I have been busy campaigning since morning. I have not read their manifesto as yet. But from what I have gathered, their manifesto has nothing for Jammu and Kashmir”.
He said the BJP’s manifestoes have always brought destruction to Jammu and Kashmir.
He claimed that the INDIA bloc would win all five Lok Sabha constituencies of Jammu and Kashmir and one in Ladakh. As part of the seat-sharing agreement reached between the INDIA partners, the Congress will contest Jammu, Udhampur and Ladakh parliamentary constituencies, while the NC will contest from the Islamabad-Rajouri, Srinagar and Baramulla Lok Sabha seats, he added.
“We have still not lost hope of the restoration of Article 370. There are many like-minded parties such as the DMK and TMC, which are with us on Article 370. The BJP did not lose hope when it had just 2 Lok Sabha seats so why should we?” Omar Abdullah said.
In its election manifesto, the BJP has vowed to implement the Union Civil Code (UCC) and bring lasting peace to the Northeast, among other key poll promises, he said.
BJP had won three out of six seats in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, while the NC won the remaining three seats. Polling in Jammu and Kashmir will take place in the first five phases, between April 19 and May 20.—KMS
