Srinagar: National Conference president Omar Abdullah on Friday accused the police and the administration in Jammu and Kashmir of facilitating horse-trading and defections following the announcement of DDC election results and alleged that some parties were using money, muscle and government coercion to make up the numbers.
Omar’s remarks came after the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party led by former finance minister Altaf Bukhari announced that Yasmeena Jan — the District Development Council (DDC) member from Imam Sahib-I, in south Kashmir’s Shopian district — had joined the party here earlier in the day.
Jan had contested the polls on the National Conference (NC) mandate.
This explains why our leaders in Shopian district are being put under preventive arrest by the police. J&K police & the administration are facilitating horse trading & defections. The woman shown here joining the BJP’s B-team contested & won elections on an NC mandate, Omar said on Twitter.
The NC vice president said it was shameful for the administration to play partisan politics .
Shame on this administration for playing partisan politics to curry favour with the ruling party & their stooges. These parties couldn’t win seats so now they are using money/muscle/threats & government coercion to make up the numbers. So much for democracy has won ! He said in another tweet.
The results of the DDC elections were announced on Tuesday.
NC Condemns ‘Arrest Spree’
Meanwhile the National Conference on Friday condemned the “arrest spree” of mainstream political leaders in Kashmir.
“The message from the results of DDC elections was loud and clear that it was the democracy that had triumphed, but far from doing justice with the people by respecting their decision, nasty tactics are being employed to undermine the verdict of people by witch-hunting of political leaders,” an NC spokesperson said here on Friday, while condemning the arrest of party leaders Hilal Akbar lone and Shabir Ahmed Kullay.
He said that the arrest of Lone and Kullay was a case in point. Kullay, he said, was arrested yesterday after he had led a DDC member to meet party high command. In another instance, he said, Lone was also bundled out in Naidkhai area of north Kashmir.
“District President Shopian Showkat Ahmed Ganaie is also under detention for three days now; the grounds of detention have not been made known by the administration as yet,” he said, while demanding immediate release of detained leaders.
“Falling to make any mark in the recently concluded DDC polls and coaxing to win over crossovers democratically, the powers that be are now resorting to witch-hunting and undue intimidation of political leaders,” the NC spokesperson added. (With PTI Inputs)
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