‘Reward CEC with Bharat Ratna, make him president’: Omar Abdullah takes jibe at Election Commission

Speaking on the sidelines of the J&K International Buyer-Seller Meet in Srinagar, Abdullah also spoke about the Election Commission, the recently concluded autumn session of the J&K Assembly and his government’s recent initiatives.

On the Election Commission, Abdullah said it needed to “do some soul-searching” and claimed that opposition to the poll panel was not limited to any one political party.

“The Election Commission needs to do some soul-searching. It isn't without reason that all Opposition parties are against the Election Commission today. The evidence wasn't brought out by any political party; the evidence came to light through a newspaper investigation,” he said.

He added, “Now, instead of trying to hide it, I feel the Election Commission should reform its functioning and ensure that such allegations and actions do not occur.”

Taking a jibe at the CEC, Abdullah said, “Why to stop at Padma Bhushan, Give a Bharat Ratan, very soon you will see how many years are left, One or two years must be left for the Presidential elections make them President. After doing so much for the BJP delivering UP, giving West Bengal as a gift to the BJP. Now they are talking about a Padma Bhushan; I think that is a great injustice. First, give a Bharat Ratna, and two years later, seat him in Rashtrapati Bhavan.”

Omar Calls Autumn Assembly Session ‘Very Fruitful’

Abdullah described the autumn session of the J&K Assembly as a success for the Treasury Benches, saying the government had not expected the session to be as productive as it was.

“It was very fruitful for us. I cannot speak for the Opposition, but I will talk about the Treasury Benches. We weren't expecting such a fruitful session for us. Before the session, we were being threatened that 'Sir, we will take the government to task in the assembly, we will corner them, we will do this, we will do that.' But when the opportunity to corner us came, they weren't even present in the House,” he said.

Abdullah said the BJP had an opportunity to hold the government accountable over its two-year performance during the discussion on the Statehood Bill but did not participate.

“The BJP had a good opportunity on the Statehood Bill to hold us accountable for the performance record of the last two years. They didn't participate, and our resolution on Statehood was passed,” he stated.

He said key legislation concerning ease of doing business and decriminalisation had also been passed.

“Today, the important bills I wanted to pass especially regarding Ease of Doing Business and Decriminalization were also passed. Tomorrow is the last day. The report prepared regarding the Jal Shakti Department will be discussed tomorrow, and then the proceedings of the House will conclude,” Omar told reporters.

‘J&K Has Changed, We Are Trying To Rectify That Change’

Speaking about changes in Jammu and Kashmir, Abdullah said not all changes were necessarily positive and said his government was trying to “rectify” the changes in the Union Territory.

“Change can be for the better, and it can be for the worse. Changes are taking place in India. How many of those changes are for the better and how many are for the worse, we can discuss among ourselves sometime,” he said.

“As far as Jammu & Kashmir is concerned, yes, Jammu & Kashmir has changed. Now we are trying to rectify that change. Slowly, drop by drop, as they say, the ocean fills up. We too are trying to refill Dal Lake drop by drop,” Abdullah added.

He cited the Assembly proceedings and the Buyer-Seller Meet as examples of the changes taking place in J&K.

“What happened in the Assembly today is an example of that. This Buyer-Seller Meet is another example. Similarly, in recent days although the media didn't give it much importance, we took a major step for our employees by transferring them from the New Pension Scheme to the Old Pension Scheme. This was a long-standing demand of theirs, and thousands of government employees will benefit from it,” he said.

Abdullah said his government was continuing to work despite what he described as unfavourable conditions in the Union Territory.

“So, as I said in my speech today, despite conditions not being so favorable for us in the UT, we are still not the kind of people who make excuses and complain that we aren't being allowed to work. We are doing as much as we can,” the Chief Minister stated.