SRINAGAR: Chief Minister and National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah on Sunday said that the termination of government employees in Jammu and Kashmir had begun during the PDP-BJP coalition rule, refuting claims that the practice started after 2019.
Speaking at a public meeting in Budgam, Abdullah alleged that it was during the tenure of the then chief minister Mehbooba Mufti that the first dismissal orders against employees were signed. “It is on record that employee terminations started during the PDP-BJP government. Mehbooba Mufti was the first to sign those orders,” Abdullah said.
He accused the previous coalition government of causing “widespread administrative and developmental damage” in the Union Territory, claiming that the National Conference was now working to undo that legacy.
Highlighting developmental milestones, Abdullah noted that institutions such as IIT and IIM were set up in Jammu during the PDP-BJP regime, while AIIMS Jammu has already become operational. “The AIIMS in Kashmir will take at least two more years to complete,” he added.
On the ongoing Budgam bypoll, Abdullah urged voters to choose a capable representative for the next four years, asserting that his government’s stability did not depend on a single seat. “A single seat will not make or break my government, but it can make a difference for the people of Budgam,” he said.
The chief minister cautioned his party workers against complacency, urging them to continue door-to-door outreach until polling day. “You don’t win an election before voting ends. We will have to work hard till the last vote is cast,” he said.
Later in the day, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah refuted allegations made by the BJP that he sought an alliance with the ruling party at the Centre in 2024 for the restoration of statehood.
“I swear on the Holy Quran that I didn’t seek an alliance with the BJP in 2024 for Statehood or for any other reason. Unlike Sunil Sharma, I don’t tell lies for a living,” Abdullah said in a post on X.
The chief minister was responding to claims made by the leader of the opposition in the Legislative Assembly, Sunil Sharma, who said that Abdullah approached the BJP in Delhi, willing to ally with them in exchange for statehood.
Sharma has earlier claimed that Abdullah had approached the BJP in 2014 as well to form an alliance government in Jammu and Kashmir after the polls had thrown up a hung verdict.
