‘Friendly contest’ between NC, BJP in Nagrota, claims AIP
The Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) led by jailed Lok Sabha MP Engineer Rashid on Saturday claimed that a “friendly contest” was taking place between the National Conference (NC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming Nagrota bypolls in Jammu.
Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, AIP state secretary Sheikh Ashiq and chief spokesperson Inam Un Nabi criticized the National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and BJP in the backdrop of the Budgam byelections.
“It is now absolutely clear to the entire Kashmir that what is happening in Nagrota is a friendly contest between NC and BJP,” Ashiq said.
He alleged that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah made only a “token visit” to Nagrota, where he “barely spoke for a few moments” and “carried a tone that reflected softness toward the BJP rather than opposition.”
Ashiq further said that the NC’s “entire political and emotional focus” remains on Budgam. “Not Nagrota, not development, not people’s issues — only Budgam,” he remarked.
According to him, the NC has “once again betrayed Budgam by sidelining the constituency and staging a managed show in Nagrota.”
Ashiq also reiterated that it was the NC which introduced the Public Safety Act (PSA) in Jammu and Kashmir, and questioned why, after the abrogation of Article 370 and the overhaul of state laws, “only the PSA survived.” He accused both NC and PDP of remaining silent over the continued use of PSA against Kashmiris.
“Since 2019, neither NC nor PDP has mounted any joint resistance to the BJP. None of them want to annoy the BJP. Only AIP took the protest to Jantar Mantar, demanding the scrapping of PSA and the release of prisoners, including jailed MP Engineer Rashid,” he said.
Ashiq appealed to Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, Molvi Imran Raza Ansari, Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen, and their supporters to support AIP candidate Nazir Ahmad Khan in Budgam “for dignity and justice.”
Inam Un Nabi recalled how Omar Abdullah had “betrayed” Budgam in the past by abandoning the constituency despite securing the highest votes. “People trusted him, but he left Budgam and went back to Ganderbal. This is the history of betrayal,” he said.
J & K