Ahead of Patna oppn unity meeting, Omar Abdullah asks major parties to form alliances

Omar questioned that if it is about opposition unity, why a Bengal party contest elections in Goa and a Tamil Nadu party in Delhi.

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir):Ahead of the upcoming unity meeting of opposition parties in Patna, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has asked the major parties to form an alliance before asking the smaller parties to join the Grand Alliance. Omar was addressing the media after a meeting at the party headquarters in Srinagar on Tuesday to discuss the effects of the drug trade and abuse in Jammu and Kashmir.

Omar said that the National Conference will attend the meeting to be held in Patna Bihar on June 23, but “will remain a mute spectator in the meeting”. "We will go to Patna to hear what the big parties have to say about the grand alliance. We are a small party and even if we win all the six seats (Five in J&K and one in Ladakh), we will not have much influence on government formation," he said.

"The big parties have to form alliances first and do that, which are contesting in 200, 50 or 40 odd seats. Let them form alliances before demanding smaller parties," he added. Without taking names, Omar Abdullah targeted TMC, DMK and other major regional parties saying “When we talk about opposition alliance, why does a Bengal party contest elections in Goa and a Tamil Nadu party in Delhi?”

“There are some parties, which do not have any workers in Jammu and Kashmir, but they want to contest elections here. Such moves don't help anyone. What kind of alliance will this be and what message will it send?" he asked. On the continuous delay in holding the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah said, "Everything is in crisis in the Union Territory and the government knows it very well, so they do not want to hold elections in Jammu and Kashmir."

"If everything was fine in Jammu and Kashmir, the government would have believed that they had developed the region. They think that all the problems have been solved," he added. Omar said, “If what the BJP is claiming is true, then let them hold elections, along with parliamentary elections in Jammu and Kashmir, and the world will see the reality”.

"We need to look at the reasons. There was a lot of song and dance during the G20 meeting, but the government turned a blind eye to the growing drug menace," he said while adding that "Drugs are coming from across the border means our anti-infiltration grid is weak."