Omar Abdullah rules out alliance with NDA

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Tuesday ruled out any future alliance between his National Conference (NC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Addressing workers of the National Conference at the party's Sher-e-Kashmir Bhawan headquarters here, Omar Abdullah said: "The NC would rather remain out of power than compromise on ideals set up by the towering NC leadership."

Omar Abdullah, who is the president of the NC, said his party's alliance with the Congress has caused discomfort to certain political parties who wanted to create confusion on the issue.

"There is no question of making any compromise on principles and have any relationship with the BJP-led NDA," he told the party workers.

Omar Abdullah clarified that the 1999 alliance between the NC and the NDA was in fact an alliance with a liberal minded leader, Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

He criticised the former chief minister and opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) patron, Mufti Muhammad Sayeed.

He said he had offered the support of his party's 28 legislators to Sayeed who had said he would resolve the Kashmir problem if he had 40 members in the 87-member state legislative assembly.

Omar Abdullah said the NC remained out of power without screaming like its opponents, who he said have been screaming ever since the NC came back to power in the state after the 2008 assembly elections.

The chief minister also clarified his Monday's statement in which he said there was a Modi effect, but no Modi wave anywhere in the country.

"I said there was a Modi effect that might effect the BJP cadre, but there was no Modi wave that would effect the voters in the country," Omar Abdullah said.

The chief minister cautioned against forces who wanted to create tensions between communities in the state. He said his government would not allow such forces to succeed in their designs.