As the Election Commission of India (ECI) postponed the Anantnag by-poll after the State government cited “law and order problems” on Thursday, the Opposition National Conference (NC) working president Omar Abdullah described it as “a clear admission of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti of being terrified to face people.”
“Seeking postponement of the by-poll shows Ms. Mufti is panicked and hiding behind the ECI. It’s a formal admission of defeat by the PDP-BJP alliance as it feared rejection by the people,” said Mr. Abdullah.
The ECI had earlier fixed the polling date on May 16 for the seat which fell vacant in the wake of the death of Mufti Muhammad Sayeed on January 7.
Mr. Abdullah said Ms. Mufti was trying “to escape the consequences of PDP’s sell-outs and political surrenders under the fig-leaf of an allegedly ‘non-conducive’ situation.”
‘Withdraw AFSPA’
Meanwhile, NC president Farooq Abdullah demanded withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from Jammu and Kashmir.
“There was a need for New Delhi to demonstrate political will and imagination to usher J&K into an era of peace, stability and progress.
“New Delhi should put in sustained and serious efforts to address the political alienation in Kashmir and provide a hope of reconciliation and inclusiveness to the youth of the State,” said Dr. Abdullah.
PTI adds: “Mehbooba’s spectacular U-turn on seeking Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) from the Government has catalysed PDP’s political obliteration. If she is so scared of facing the people, with what credibility and confidence will she rule the state?”, Mr. Omar Abdullah asked.
Earlier Mr. Omar Abdullah had tweeted saying the postponement of by-poll was an admission of “how bad things have become under @mehbooba_mufti and how petrified she is of facing the people in the byelection.”
The EC postponed the by-poll after Chief Secretary B. R. Sharma informed the Commission that the law and order situation in the State was not conducive.
Mehbooba is panicked and hiding behind the poll panel, says National Conference
