'When they need us...': Omar Abdullah hints at not joining grand alliance against BJP

Omar Abdullah said only four parties namely DMK, Mamata Banerjee-led TMC and two Left Front parties have always stood with the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Rajouri:Taking a swipe at the Opposition parties for remaining silent when the Centre had scrapped Article 370, National Conference Vice President and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday hinted at not joining in the alliance against the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Abdullah said that the alliance will not do any benefit to his party or Jammu and Kashmir. "I have been repeatedly saying that whenever they (Opposition) need us, they knock on our doors. When Kejriwal (Delhi Chief Minister Arvind) is in trouble and needs our support he knocked our doors. But where were these leaders in 2019 when Article 370 was scrapped and Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh by the central government?"

The Centre had issued an Ordinance in May to restore power over services in Delhi to Lieutenant Governor, a week after the Supreme Court ordered handing over the control to the Delhi government. Kejriwal, who has been reaching out to the Opposition leaders to resist the Ordinance in the Rajya Sabha, till now has got support from National Congress Party's Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thaceray-led Shiv Sena faction, Trinamool Congress's Mamata Banerjee, Janata Dal (United's) Nitish Kumar and Bharat Rashtriya Samithi's K Chandrashekhar Rao.

Abdullah rued that people who were raising a hue and cry today for safeguarding the Constitution and democracy were not there when democracy was murdered in Jammu and Kashmir. He alleged that those leaders not only opposed the Centre but some of them had even supported the move (in Parliament).

According to him, only four parties namely DMK, Mamata Banerjee-led TMC and two Left parties have always stood with the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Apart from these parties, no one else extended their support to us at that time, he said. "Let the Opposition parties do what they want. We have five Lok Sabha seats and will fight against the BJP on our own seats," Abdullah told reporters after reaching Rajouri.