The Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) on Saturday announced former DDC chairman Nazir Ahmad Khan as the party candidate for Budgam byelections.
The Budgam seat was vacated by J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah after he won elections from Budgam and Ganderbal assembly seats last year.
The polls for Budgam and Nagrota assembly segments will be held on November 11.
Addressing the media, AIP chief spokesman Inam Un Nabi accused J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah of “surrendering on every issue concerning the people of Jammu and Kashmir.”
He said, “If Omar had taken MP Baramulla Er Rashid’s suggestion seriously and refused to take oath until the restoration of statehood, the situation would have been very different today. We would not be begging for statehood now.”
He further said Omar was “never serious about the promises he made to the public,” and added that had he been sincere, “he would have convened an all-party meeting to collectively demand statehood restoration from the Centre.” He also criticized Omar for his silence on Article 370, saying NC’s stand has been “nothing but political posturing”.
He alleged that Omar betrayed the people of Budgam. “During the last elections, he promised that if Budgam gave him more votes than Ganderbal, he would retain their seat. Budgam trusted him, but he abandoned them. This time, Budgam will defeat NC and PDP both, as people have seen through their hollow promises and repeated betrayals.”
On political prisoners, he said, “On one hand, Omar remains a mute spectator, and on the other, Mehbooba Mufti talks only about shifting-not releasing-the detainees. This clearly means she prefers Kashmiris to rot in jails. Both NC and PDP fear demanding the release of MP Baramulla Er Rashid because they are afraid of his growing popularity and people’s acceptance.”
Welcoming the Union Government’s dialogue with the Taliban and Ladakhi representatives, Inam Un Nabi questioned Omar’s “inaction”.
On the return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits, Inam Un Nabi launched a sharp critique of Omar’s governance record, saying, “Like the BJP, the NC government led by Omar also exploited the sufferings of Kashmiri Pandits for political mileage. May we ask Omar how many times his government actually met the Kashmiri Pandit leadership who left the Valley, to discuss their safe and dignified return?”