Omar brushes aside separatists call for election boycott in Anantnag

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday shrugged off the separatists call for boycott of the upcoming by-election in Anantnag assembly constituency, saying the people have rejected this appeal several times in the past.

"Calling for a boycott of the election is nothing new here. We have seen this continuously since 1996 and more often than not, the people have ignored this call. Whether in the panchayat elections or in recent assembly and Parliament elections for the last ten years now," he told the media here.

Omar, however, said the extent of the impact this boycott call makes in the upcoming by-elections has to be seen.

The former chief minister expressed hope that the people of the state would participate in large numbers to express their resentment with the current regime.

"I hope that people come out and participate in large numbers because there is a great degree of resentment against this PDP-BJP alliance and I hope that reflects in the voting when it takes place," he added.

Omar's comment comes in the wake of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik's call for boycotting the upcoming by-elections in Anantnag.

Asserting that this election process is against the interests of Kashmiris, Malik urged the people to keep away from by-polls to be held in holy month of Ramadan.