NC ready for fresh elections: Omar Abdullah

National Conference (NC) working president Omar Abdullah today said his party was ready for fresh elections in Jammu and Kashmir if PDP and BJP do not form a government.
He also ruled out any fresh support to PDP, saying NC's offer to form a government after 2014 assembly polls was turned down and it facilitated the ascent of BJP to power in the state.
"We want to ask PDP and BJP how much more we will have to wait for government formation? Either you form a government or, if you are not ready, please inform the Governor so that he dissolves the assembly and we get ready for fresh elections," Omar told reporters here.

"If PDP and BJP do not form a government and there are fresh elections, then we are ready for the assembly polls," he said.
The state, where PDP is in alliance with BJP, is currently under Governor's rule.
While addressing NC's youth convention, Omar said, "This situation is detrimental to the state. I believe some sort of uncertainty in a state like Jammu and Kashmir is tantamount to playing with danger. Both these parties should rise above their self interests and think about the state."

"Our offer was made to keep BJP away from the state. That time, Sayeed did not wait even for a minute to reject it. Today, there is no question of making a fresh offer because they have made BJP's entry possible.

"There are branches of RSS in Srinagar now and they are brandishing weapons in their marches in Jammu. They are burning houses of our Gujjar brothers and then police open fire on them. In such a situation, what is the meaning of making an offer to PDP," he said.
"Had Sayeed accepted our offer that time, then perhaps the situation in the state would not have been such," Omar said.
Expressing concern over encounters in south Kashmir, he said, "There was an encounter today as well. I am not concerned about encounters as much as I am about the situation which arises after the encounters.

He said there was fifty per cent reservation in Jammu and
Kashmir's medical colleges for girl students -- one of the hard-fought achievements of NC founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah who believed in women empowerment through equal opportunities in education.
"NEET poses the grave threat that this significant percentage of reserved seats in our medical colleges meant for girl students from our state will now have to be shared on a national level. They would possibly have to compete for these reservations against students from the rest of the country.
"Then there are issues of curriculum mismatches, differences in syllabus as well as systemic incongruities.," the NC working president said.

He said that after studying for two to three years preparing for state-level entrance examinations, the students from the state are faced with the possibility of having to appear for an examination with a curriculum different from the one they have prepared for - all because of the "callousness" of the state government.
The former chief minister said the PDP-BJP government had shown similar "ineptitude and irresponsibility" while dealing with other vital issues of importance to the state.
"Look at how the state government forced hundreds and thousands of our brothers and sisters out on the streets to press for basic allocation of ration as per the previous, established norms.

Referring to the killing of a lecturer in Khrew and an ATM
Guard in Srinagar, Abdullah demanded that justice be done to "people who were murdered".
He accused the chief minister of lying to people, the Centre and the Supreme court on the situation in the Valley.
Attacking PDP MP Muzaffar Hussain Baig, Abdullah alleged that he belittled the youth of Kashmir by saying that they were fighting for "appear of dress" and asked the chief minister to make her stand clear in this regard.
"Baig gave four contradictory statements on the killing of Wani...That he was killed by a mistake, second that if we knew about him we would give him a second chance, third that he was killed by police to embarrass the chief minister and fourth that he was a militant that is why he was killed," he said.

The former chief minister said the state Finance Minister even went a step ahead to say it was a fake encounter and that he was killed in custody.
"Such contradictory statements were bound to disturb the situation. When we say that the government had a major role in spoiling the situation, we are not wrong, facts support this thing," he said.