"National Conference wanted to form govt with BJP in 2014": BJP's Devender Rana
Sep 21, 2024
Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], September 21 : BJP leader Devender Singh Rana reiterated on Saturday that Omar Abdullah met with Amit Shah and Ram Madhav in 2014 as the National Conference wanted to form a government with the BJP.
On his statement that Omar Abdullah met BJP leaders for forming government in 2014, Devender Singh Rana told ANI, "I have worked with Omar Abdullah very closely. I neither lied about him earlier nor am I lying now. He too knows that in 2014, he met Amit Shah and Ram Madhav and he was interested in forming the government. I won't comment on his remarks about me..."
Rana added, "But it is true that the National Conference wanted to form a government with the BJP in 2014. It is also true that he met Amit Shah and Ram Madhav. If he thinks that this is a lie, he should deny it. If he denies it, I will speak to you with facts..."
Earlier in the month, Rana told reporters, ""He (Omar Abdullah) was interim CM and didn't want to leave power. He wanted NC to be in power in one way or the other. Farooq Abdullah was abroad and he asked him to go and talk to the BJP and stay in Government somehow. BJP was in the centre so Farooq Abdullah always wanted to go hand in hand with the central government. Now the situation will not arise for BJP and NC to come together."
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Saturday that the voter turnout in the first phase of the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir is a testament to the transformation happening in Jammu and Kashmir.
Addressing a public rally here today, Amit Shah said that the Congress, National Conference and People's Democratic Party are responsible for all the chaos and issues in the Union Territory.
"The voter turnout in the first phase of elections is a testament to the transformation happening in Jammu and Kashmir, and the strengthening of democracy in the state. Congress, NC and PDP seized the rights of people here for years by not conducting elections. The Congress, NC and PDP are responsible for all the chaos and issues in Jammu and Kashmir. There was no reservation for the Gurjar and Bakarwal communities. Nor was it provided to OBCs and Dalits. There were no signs of development, and the Gandhis-Abdullahs brought nothing but dissatisfaction and deterioration in the state," Shah said.
Assembly elections are underway in Jammu and Kashmir, with the first phase of voting held on September 18. The second phase is scheduled for September 25 and the third phase for October 1. The counting of votes will take place on October 8.
The Congress and the National Conference are fighting the polls in alliance. The PDP, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and People's Conference, to name a few, are other parties in the fray for 90 Assembly seats.
The assembly polls are being held after a gap of nearly ten years and are the first one since the abrogation of Article 370.