Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday strongly defended the government’s decision to convene a seven-day Assembly session, dismissing Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma’s charge of “non-seriousness” and turning the criticism back on the BJP with a sharp jibe.
Taking a clear jibe at the BJP he said: “A lack of seriousness would be evident if we followed the path shown by the BJP people who are rarely even seen in Parliament, Look at how long the BJP members actually sit in the House; then tell me who is truly serious and who isn’t. He asserted that the BJP has “no locus standi” to level such accusations, noting that states ruled by the saffron party often hold even shorter sessions of one or two days. These, he said, were the same people who approached him at his Jammu office right after the government was formed seeking adjustments or accommodation. “I remain silent out of courtesy, don’t want to name them as they will get exposed but if you check the records, you will find the names of everyone who visited my office,” he added. Issues raised by daily wagers and others would be addressed during the forthcoming session itself, he said.
Responding to the charge, Omar Abdullah asked pointedly: “It is a seven-day session. What is non-serious about that? Abdullah stressed that his government sits in the Assembly from morning until evening and that “there isn’t a single day when we aren’t personally present. Omar cleared that he or his party had no fear of MLAs switching sides When asked about speculation regarding the stability of his government and whether he counts his MLAs every day, Omar was blunt: “Ask your questions openly; why be hesitant? I have absolutely no fear regarding that; I have complete faith in my people. He alleged that the narrative of instability in national conference is being pushed by “just one or two individuals who collect their ‘envelopes’ from agencies based on Gupkar Road. He clarified that the process is underway in every department where fresh recruitment is required and that the government stands by the commitments made during the budget session.
On the flood of daily statements from the Opposition, he made his position clear: “They issue statements every day; please don’t expect me to respond to every single one. You mentioned this today but there will be another statement in a month I will respond to one statement a month, not daily.”
