NC, BJP working hand-in-glove for electoral gains: Mehbooba

Opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) today accused ruling National Conference legislators of being hand-in-glove with BJP and fomenting trouble in the state in order to consolidate their vote bank.
"(When the tension started), BJP was active and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was very much discussing the issue with (BJP Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha) Sushma Swaraj.
"That means the CM and BJP are somewhere involved in this and BJP will naturally try to benefit," PDP president Mehbooba Mufti told reporters here.
She was referring to tweets on the microblogging site exchanged between Omar and Swaraj over the trouble in Kishtwar.

Mehbooba alleged that NC legislators were trying to spark trouble to consolidate their "weakened" positions in their respective constituencies.
"We have information from Kishtwar that the ruling party MLA there, who is a minister as well... His position was getting weaker in the constituency, so somewhere he started this (trouble) at some level," she said.

NC MLA and Minister of State for Home Sajjad Ahmed Kitchloo, who was present in Kishtwar when trouble erupted, has been accused in some quarters of having had a hand in it.
She demanded an inquiry to expose those who want to benefit from sectarian and communal clashes in the state.

"We want a full-fledged investigation into this and it should be seen who is benefiting from it... Whosoever is involved, from any community, should be brought to justice," she said.
Mehbooba said that the state government had failed to safeguard the lives and honour of the people.
"Omar is the most inefficient and inactive CM. He doesn't respond to the situation. He reacts to us, to what PDP says and does," she said.
The PDP president also slammed Omar on his statement that people in Jammu may demand a separate state.
"Unfortunately it was the CM who was the only one in the entire state to say that Jammu people are going to demand a separate state.

"He had no business to talk about that as I think the majority of the people do not want a separate state," she said, appealing to the people to maintain peace and calm.