Srinagar, Mar 3: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has clarified that there are no plans for an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), reaffirming his party’s independent political stance.
“We are not discussing any alliance with the BJP; neither is there any scope nor necessity for it. Our ideologies are vastly different, especially when it comes to Jammu and Kashmir. We will deliberate on all issues during the session,” Abdullah stated.
The Chief Minister made these remarks while addressing the first Budget Session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly in Jammu. During his address, he also lauded former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his contributions to India’s economic growth and welfare initiatives.
“Manmohan Singh ji was born in undivided India. He studied at Oxford and Cambridge and served as an officer, finance minister, and then prime minister. When he took over as finance minister, the country was facing an economic crisis. Today, India stands among the largest global economies, and the private sector has flourished due to the end of the license raj. As Prime Minister, he launched key initiatives like the Indira Awas Yojana and MGNREGA,” Abdullah said.
Recalling Singh’s farewell press conference, he added, “Manmohan Singh had said, ‘History will be a better judge of me than contemporary times.’ He was widely respected by world leaders.”
Omar Abdullah also shared an anecdote about Singh’s humility. “I once wrote a letter to him on an issue and later spoke about it in an interview without mentioning the letter. There was a misunderstanding that protocol had been breached. He called me and said, ‘This is not right; you addressed the issue in the press.’ I clarified that I had not done so. Fifteen minutes later, he called back and apologized. He was the Prime Minister; he did not have to do that, yet he did.”
The Chief Minister also spoke about the progress made on resolving the Kashmir issue during the tenure of former Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Manmohan Singh.
Highlighting key infrastructure projects initiated under Singh’s leadership, Abdullah noted, “Working groups were formed, jobs were created for Kashmiri Pandits, and they returned to Kashmir. The Jagti township for Kashmiri Pandit migrants was built during his tenure. He also initiated the construction of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. Today, we await the Prime Minister’s inauguration of the Banihal train, a project that was started under Manmohan Singh’s leadership, including the world’s highest railway bridge.”
The Budget Session, which marks the first under an elected government in over seven years, is a significant step in the return of the legislative process in Jammu and Kashmir.
