Page 12 - Omar Abdullah

J-K polls will prove supremacy of security forces over terrorists: Omar

National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah on Thursday said assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir should be held in time to prove the supremacy of security forces over terrorists, who have carried out a spate of attacks in Jammu region recently. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a party function here, Abdullah said there is no normalcy in the union territory. "There is no normalcy. But, is the situation worse than 1996? If yes, then let them not conduct the elections. If they want to bow down before these powers who are attacking, then don't conduct the election. If you have to prove the supremacy of the militancy, rather than proving the supremacy of our armed forces and police, then don't conduct the elections," he said. The former chief minister of the erstwhile state of J-K, said if the government has courage, then elections should be conducted. "If you don't have the courage, and are afraid, then don't. But, if you have to show the supremacy of our police and .

PM should have spoken on NEET issue, 'exam pe charcha' overdue: Omar

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have spoken over the NEET row instead of attacking the opposition on the first day of Parliament session. "While attacking the opposition is the prerogative of the Hon PM & we wouldn't expect BJP being humbled in the recent polls to change that, it would have been in the fitness of things for the Hon PM to spare a few words for the young men & women for whom the #NEET scandal is the only issue that matters," he said on X. "Exam pe charcha isn't a one off but a long term commitment to the interests & concerns of students," Abdullah said. He was responding to the prime minister's remarks in Parliament premises on the first day of the 18th Lok Sabha. "People expect good steps from the opposition but it has been disappointing so far," the prime minister had said in Parliament premises. "India needs a responsible opposition and people want substance not slogans. They want debate, ...

Election result 2024: Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti admit defeat in Kashmir

Abdullah conceded defeat from the Baramulla seat to independent candidate Engineer Rashid, who is currently lodged in Tihar jail under the stringent UAPA on charges of terror funding

Exit polls proven wrong; final results will be in our favour: Omar Abdullah

National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said he is hopeful of winning the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat, even as he was trailing behind Independent candidate Sheikh Abdul Rashid by 25,000 votes in initial trends. "There will be ups and downs but the final results will be in our favour," Abdullah told reporters here. Asked about his take on the exit polls, the NC leader said, "Exit polls have been wrong in the past as well but right also sometimes. While we are hopeful, we have apprehensions also that all the exit polls cannot be wrong." "There can be minor differences but all exit polls are saying one thing only. It will be something extraordinary to hope that all of them are wrong. Everything will be clear by 1 or 2 pm," he said. Most exit polls have predicted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will retain power for a third straight term, with the BJP-led NDA expected to win a big majority in the Lok Sabha polls. While some exit polls have given the NDA more th

We don't have many Muslim leaders on national stage: Omar Abdullah

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah highlighted the absence of prominent Muslim leaders on the national stage when the community faces challenges, and said Ghulam Nabi Azad could have played the leadership role within the Congress, but his fledgling DPAP is limited to just the Chenab Valley now. Abdullah emphasised the need for a strong national-level Muslim leader to give Muslims in the rest of the country "some reassurance". Azad had ended his more than five-decade-long association with the Congress in August 2022 and launched his own party -- the Democratic Azad party (DAP) -- the next month. "Unfortunately, he (Azad) was a man who would have been on the forefront of the Congress campaign. He would have been on the forefront of the leadership role within the Congress. I don't know what went wrong but I feel bad...we don't have many many Muslim leaders on the national stage," Abdullah said. Azad not being there is a loss to the wider Muslim community, especially

LS elections: Brisk polling in Baramulla as 35% polling recorded till 1 pm

Polling began on Monday in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency where 22 candidates, including former chief minister Omar Abdullah, are in the fray, officials said. Voting began at 7 am. People were seen lining up outside the polling stations to exercise their franchise in some areas of the constituency, the officials said. The constituency is spread over 18 assembly segments in the three districts of Kupwara, Baramulla and Bandipora, and also includes two segments of Budgam that were included on the recommendations of the delimitation commission two years ago, they said. Voting is scheduled to end at 6 pm. More than 500 centenarians are among the 17.37 lakh voters eligible to exercise their franchise, with political observers expecting a high turnout on the back of the huge crowds that thronged election rallies and roadshows. The first major political battle post the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 will decide the fate of Abdullah, the National Conference ...

Tourist arrivals in Kashmir not accurate gauge of normalcy: Omar Abdullah

National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah on Monday said tourism should not be linked to the security situation in Kashmir as tourist arrivals are not the right barometer of normalcy and this makes tourists a target. The situation in the Valley is "not normal", Abdullah told reporters after visiting polling booths in Budgam. The NC leader is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Baramulla, where voting is underway. "We have been saying that the situation (in Kashmir) is not normal. The militants have proved repeatedly that they can attack whenever they want to. Unfortunately, a politician, an ex-sarpanch of the BJP, lost his life and two tourists were injured (in terrorist attacks)," the NC leader said, referring to Saturday's twin attacks in Shopian and Anantnag. "I appeal to the government to talk less about normalcy because the situation is not normal and also talk less about tourism being an indicator of normalcy because when they link normalcy with tourism, they put

LS polls: 1.7 mn voters in Baramulla to decide fate of Omar, Sajad Lone

More than 500 centenarians are among the 17.37 lakh voters eligible to exercise their franchise in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency, with political observers expecting a high turnout on the back of the huge crowds that thronged election rallies and roadshows. The first major political battle post the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 will decide the fate of Omar Abdullah, the National Conference vice-president and a former chief minister of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state, and 21 others in the fray. Fourteen Independent candidates -- two of whom are women -- are among the hopefuls from the north Kashmir seat, which has traditionally returned a higher turnout compared to areas in central and south Kashmir. The constituency goes to the polls on Monday. Abdullah faces the biggest challenge from separatist-turned-politician and former minister Sajad Lone, who heads the People's Conference. The blazing campaign trail witnessed the rivals going full throttle ...

Larger participation of people answer to 'betrayal of Aug 2019': Omar

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah has said people are identifying themselves with his party's campaign as it is talking about factors important to them: the sense of "betrayal" since August 5, 2019 and their issues remaining unaddressed in the absence of a popular government since 2018. Abdullah, who is contesting from the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat, accuses the "BJP and agencies" of riding "multiple horses in this race to see which one can ultimately damage the National Conference". Overwhelmed by people's enthusiastic response to his roadshows and rallies, especially in areas hitherto dominated by the separatist ideology, the NC vice president said the BJP's tactics in various constituencies indicated a calculated approach to secure advantages through alliances against his party. "Well obviously, the people have identified themselves with our campaign; they have joined in large numbers and with enthusiastic crowds. But it is also true that there is a general sense of betrayal

LS polls: Three generations of Abdullah family cast vote in J-K's Srinagar

Three generations of the Abdullah family on Monday cast their vote in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency, with National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah appealing to people to turn out in large numbers to exercise their franchise. NC president and former J-K chief minister Farooq Abdullah, his son Omar Abdullah and his two grandsons and first-time electors Zahir and Zamir? cast their vote at the polling station at the Burn Hall School here. "We have two first-time voters with us. It is for the first time that three generations of our family are voting together," Omar Abdullah, also a former chief minister, said. It is for the first time since 1998 that no member of the Abdullah family is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Srinagar. The only loss the NC suffered on this seat was in the 2014 general elections. While the BJP, which is in power at the Centre, is not contesting any of the three Lok Sabha seats, including Srinagar, in Kashmir, the party

LS polls: Omar, Mehbooba ask EC not to postpone voting in Anantnag-Rajouri

NC leader Omar Abdullah and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Friday asked the Election Commission not to postpone polls in Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha seat. The former chief ministers made the appeal after the EC sought a report from Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo and the Chief Electoral Officer on representations submitted by some parties and three candidates seeking rescheduling of elections in the constituency due to adverse weather conditions, including snowfall on the Mughal road. "I appeal to the EC that such a step should not be taken.The demand for postponement is not from all parties. The weird thing is that some of the people who have written to the EC are not contesting. If I write to the EC about constituencies in Tamil Nadu etc. will they take notice," he told a press conference in Srinagar. Speaking to reporters in Surankote area of Poonch district, Mehbooba said, They all have ganged up against me because they do not want to see me in Parliament. The people, cutting across

Manmohan Singh was true statesman, Modi must think about his legacy: Omar

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Saturday said Manmohan Sigh was a true statesman and that Narendra Modi, at some stage, will have to start thinking about the kind of legacy he leaves behind. In an interview with PTI Videos, Abdullah, who is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from north Kashmir Baramulla constituency, said it was obvious that the Centre was using the probe agencies under it against the leaders of the opposition parties. "It is not apparent, it is obvious. When 95 per cent of the cases that are being investigated or charged by the Enforcement Directorate are against (opposition ) political leaders and political parties, that tells you. "At some point, the PM will start looking at his legacy. Right now, I think his aim is to be a PM for longer than Jawahar Lal Nehru. Once that aim is met, then, none of us get younger, we all get older. There comes a time when we have to leave the stage. I have no doubt that somewhere in the back of his mind, the PM will start .

This is not end of Farooq Abdullah's career, says NC leader Omar Abdullah

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Saturday said his father Farooq Abdullah's not contesting the Lok Sabha polls does not signal an end to his electoral career. "With my father, I have learnt over time that you never say never, ever. So until the very last breath, and may God give him many more of them, do not ever write him off for anything," Omar told PTI. The National Conference vice president was responding to a question whether the senior Abdullah might stage a comeback when assembly elections are held in Jammu and Kashmir. In response to a question about his sons - Zahir and Zameer -- being groomed for active politics, the former J-K chief minister said they have done nothing that warrants such a conjecture. "As far as my sons are concerned, what have they done? Have they made speeches, have they got mandates, have they done any active politics? As sons or grandsons, they help out wherever they are needed. We hosted a party (Iftar party), if they help as part of the

Lok Sabha polls: Omar Abdullah to contest elections from Baramulla

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah will contest elections from the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency, the National Conference announced here on Friday. Making the announcement, party president Farooq Abdullah also told reporters here that influential Shia leader Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi will contest from central Kashmir's Srinagar constituency, which has been an NC bastion. After the abrogation of Article 370, and the downgrading and division of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories, Omar Abdullah, the NC vice president, had announced he would not contest assembly elections unless J-K's statehood was restored. Spread over 18 assembly segments, the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat would be one of the keenly watched contests as electoral dynamics in the constituency have changed after delimitation. The constituency, which encompasses four districts of Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora and parts of Budgam, is pegged for a key contest with a largely .

Elections 2024: Farooq Abdullah to not contest polls, cites health reasons

Farooq Abdullah, National Conference (NC) president and MP for Srinagar, opts out of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls due to health concerns

Matter of shame that elections in J-K had to be announced by SC: Omar

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said it was "a matter of considerable shame" that the Supreme Court had to issue a directive about elections in Jammu and Kashmir rather than the Election Commission of India. The National Conference leader also contended that the view that Article 370 was at the root of all problems of Jammu and Kashmir was not correct, and terrorist attacks are now being reported in areas which were earlier free of terrorism, in particular the hills of Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch. More Kashmiri Pandits have been killed in targeted attacks in the Valley during the tenure of the present government than in the past, he claimed, speaking at ABP Network's 'Ideas of India' Summit 3.0 here. "What is the BJP and what is the Government of India going to do about the deadline the Supreme Court has set," Abdullah asked, noting that the court has said that assembly elections should be held in Jammu and Kashmir by the end of September 2024. "It .

NC in talks with Cong for 3 LS seats, is part of INDIA bloc: Omar Abdullah

The National Conference is a part of the INDIA grouping and will continue to be, party leader Omar Abdullah clarified on Thursday and said it is in talks with the Congress for an arrangement in three of the six Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Omar Abdullah's statement came shortly after NC chief Farooq Abdullah told reporters that the party would contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections and possible assembly polls in the Union Territory on its own. "We were a part of the INDIA alliance and we still are. Things have been taken out of context. The main idea of the grouping is to defeat the BJP for there is no point in sailing in two boats," Omar Abdullah said with his father, Farooq Abdullah, by his side. Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the union territory next week, he said, "We will also get to know how much development has happened in Jammu and Kashmir." He said the prime minister should start his theory of one nation, one election from Ja

INDIA parties should speed up seat-sharing in favourable states: Omar

INDIA bloc partners should speed up their seat-sharing talks for the Lok Sabha elections in states such as Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Punjab where their prospects are better, National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah said on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters here, he said such talks for the seats in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh have not started yet. "We are a part of the INDIA alliance. We have a total of six seats including Ladakh and I do not think it will take us more than 15 minutes to take a decision on that. I want that wherever we have hopes of winning seats like in UP, WB, Maharashtra, Bihar, Punjab, Delhi, TN, and Kerala, we should speed up the process of seat-sharing discussions," he said. Abdullah said the National Conference has also not started intra-party talks on its candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, due in April-May. Asked whether he would contest the elections, he said, "I have not had the opportunity to discuss this....

SC upholds abrogation of Article 370; PM hails, Abdullah says disappointed

The top court in its verdict stated that Article 370 was a temporary provision and the state of Jammu and Kashmir did not retain any element of sovereignty

Disappointed, struggle will continue: Abdullah on SC verdict on Article 370

National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah on Monday said he is disappointed but not disheartened with the Supreme Court's verdict on pleas challenging the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution. "Disappointed but not disheartened. The struggle will continue," Abdullah said in a post on X. The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said it took the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) decades to abrogate the provisions of Article 370 and added that they are also prepared for the long haul. "It took the BJP decades to reach here. We are also prepared for the long haul," he said. The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the Centre's August 5, 2019 decision to abrogate Article 370, which bestowed a special status on the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, and said steps should be taken to conduct elections to the Assembly in the Union Territory by September 30 next year. The apex court also directed that statehood to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir b