Disappointed that some of my political friends didn’t join Bharat Jodo Yatra, says Omar Abdullah

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said he was disappointed that several political parties did not join the Congress’s Bharat Jodo Yatra.

“The parties that chose to stay away should seriously introspect as to what it was that forced them to take that decision because this yatra was not about anointing a prime ministerial candidate, nor was it about forging an electoral alliance. It was simply to give the country a message that there is more than one way of thinking about the country.”

Omar Abdullah said it was “surprising” that parties which said they were opposed to the BJP and claimed “to treat all religions equally” stayed away from a yatra whose “message was about unity”. “I would have expected it from some political parties but I am disappointed that some of my political friends and some of the younger ones chose to stay away,” he said.

The former J&K CM said he personally identified with the message behind the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra and that was why he walked with the Congress leader. He explained why he stood with the Congress despite the grand old party not being a part of the Gupkar Alliance.

The former J&K CM said, “Politics is not just about alliances, it is also about what one individual or party stands for. This yatra was taken out with the aim of uniting the country and to bring an alternative message than the one that is being propagated by the ruling establishment. I identified with it and felt at a personal level that I wanted to participate in it.”

Omar Abdullah said that despite him not finding common ground with the Congress on their opinion about the abrogation of Article 370, the the wider message of the yatra resonated with him. “I find no common cause with the Congress as far as its position on Article 370 is concerned. It’s the wider message that he (Rahul Gandhi) came with, about the need to unify, the need to remove hatred.”

The National Conference (NC) leader added that people came out in large numbers far beyond what was expected and attributed it to them recognising that “Rahul Gandhi has been taking on the BJP”.

Omar Abdullah also argued that the abrogation of Article 370 is not the reason why the Congress could march through Jammu and Kashmir. “If the yatra is credited to that, why are there no elections in J&K? Let the BJP please explain to us why we have been denied an election. The PM recently said India is the mother of democracy. Then why are we motherless? Jammu and Kashmir has been denied democracy,” he said.

Omar Abdullah said the delimitation of Jammu and Kashmir would not benefit the BJP. “If they felt that way, they would have called for elections by now,” he said.

Slamming the saffron party, he said, “I am convinced that the BJP is afraid of facing the people, otherwise there is no reason to not hold elections.”