Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to topple his National Conference (NC)-led government by engineering defections, alleging that party MLAs were offered between Rs 20 crore and Rs 30 crore, ministerial berths and even the promise of statehood in exchange for switching sides.Addressing a workers’ convention at the mausoleum of his grandparents at Hazratbal in Srinagar on the 26th death anniversary of his grandmother Akbar Jehan, Abdullah claimed the BJP was making repeated attempts to split the National Conference.
‘Rs 20-30 crore, ministry and statehood’
Claiming that one of his party legislators from Jammu had approached him with details of the alleged offer, Abdullah said a BJP office-bearer, who was also a Supreme Court lawyer, had reached out to the MLA.“God bears witness that one MLA from Jammu told me that a BJP office-bearer, who is also a Supreme Court lawyer, offered him Rs 20-30 crore, a ministry, and statehood after asking him to support them. They think people’s faith is so weak,” Abdullah said.Also Read: ‘Don’t mistake our patience for weakness’: Omar Abdullah presses Centre on J&K statehoodHe further alleged that after offers of money and ministerial posts failed, the BJP had changed its strategy.“Attempts are being made to break the National Conference. After offering money and ministerial berths didn’t work, the BJP is now telling my MLAs behind closed doors that ‘come with us and we will give you statehood’,” he claimed.
‘My MLAs will not sell themselves’
Expressing confidence in his legislators, the chief minister said none of the National Conference MLAs would defect for money.“There is not a single legislator on this stage who will sell his integrity for Rs 30 crore, or even Rs 100 crore, because we know that we are answerable to God,” he said.Targeting the BJP, Abdullah added, “Don’t think that we are so weak that you will make an entry through the back door. You will never reach the chair at the front through the back door. People have kept you at the back, and you will remain there.”National Conference president Farooq Abdullah also alleged that there were attempts to split the party.According to the veteran leader, such efforts had been made in the past as well, and he urged party workers not to lose heart. The BJP had not publicly responded to Omar Abdullah’s allegations.Earlier in his address, Abdullah urged the Centre not to mistake his patience over the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood for weakness. He asked the Centre to define what it meant by an “appropriate time” for restoring statehood and questioned why the government was willing to engage with the people of Ladakh but not those of Jammu and Kashmir.