Ghulam Nabi Azad to NC: Move beyond Sheikh Abdullah’s legacy

Banihal (Ramban), April 16

Challenging NC president Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah to move beyond the legacy of former CM Sheikh Abdullah, DPAP chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad on Tuesday targeted Omar, referring to the support “his MLAs” provided during his tenure as the CM.

Omar Abdullah served as the CM of the coalition government of the Congress and the National Conference (NC) in J&K from 2009 to 2015. Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) chairman Azad, a former Congress leader, accused the NC of a “legacy of violence, hollow promises, and exploiting the populace”. “I want to ask Omar Abdullah, if you served as chief minister for six years, it was because of the support of my MLAs. I extended your tenure by sharing the alliance. You didn’t do any favours. The MLAs who supported you for the chief ministership are still with me,” Azad said in a public rally here.

Azad made these remarks to counter the recent assertions by Omar Abdullah regarding the role his MLAs played in his six-year tenure as CM.

Azad is on a campaign trail in Ramban for his party candidate GM Saroori pitted in a three-cornered contest with Union Minister Jitendra Singh of the BJP and Choudhary Lal Singh of the Congress in Udhampur which goes to polls on April 19.