The war of words between Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah and the BJP has taken a turn for the worse, with the Opposition party in the Union territory serving him a legal notice threatening a Rs 100 crore defamation suit over allegations that MLAs of the ruling National Conference (NC) were being poached.
The notice was issued by the BJP’s J&K president Sat Paul Sharma through an advocate, and accuses Abdullah of making “false, baseless and defamatory” claims.
Last week, while addressing NC workers in Srinagar during a function to observe the 26th death anniversary of his grandmother Akbar Jehan Abdullah, Omar had alleged that the BJP was attempting to destabilise his government by engineering defections. He claimed some party MLAs had been offered Rs 20-30 crore each, ministerial berths and restoration of J&K’s statehood in exchange for switching sides.
Abdullah did not name any BJP leader, though. In response, the BJP demanded his unconditional public apology within seven days. The three-page legal notice warned that failure to retract his statements would invite civil and criminal proceedings, including a Rs 100 crore defamation suit.
The notice stated that Abdullah’s allegations were “untrue, malicious and without any factual basis”, and had harmed the reputation and dignity of the BJP’s J&K chief.
Abdullah mocked the legal notice as “love letter” and added that it only showed he is a political force the BJP cannot ignore. “I have received a letter from a lawyer I consider this a great honour,” he said. “I am the only politician in J&K to be bestowed with a love letter like this from the BJP.”
“I consider it a mark of respect that I am obviously a political force they cannot ignore,” Abdullah said, criticising the BJP for preferring legal battles over political ones and warning that the NC would now send legal notices to BJP leaders who have made “slanderous accusations” against his party.
“For the past few months, there have been so many slanderous accusations against the National Conference and its leadership by senior BJP leaders in J&K, particularly one leader who time and again has levelled unfounded allegations Now, we will begin the process of sending legal notices to that particular BJP leader and a few others; let’s see where this goes,” he countered.
The chief minister also shared that the NC was awaiting a Delhi police response to its request to be allowed to hold protests at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. Abdullah, who has been pitching for restoration of J&K’s statehood, announced during a rally in Jammu on July 12 that the NC would launch a fresh campaign for the cause, which included a protest in New Delhi on July 20 after what he described as nearly two years of waiting for the Centre to fulfil its promise.
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