Last Updated: February 01, 2024, 19:10 IST
National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah (File: PTI)
On the interim Budget, Abdullah said that in the run up to the elections, this was not a full Budget
National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah on Thursday said if the BJP really believes in ‘one nation, one election’, then the government should set the ball rolling by conducting simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.
“The government and the BJP talks about one nation, one election, their report is ready, and if they really believe it, then they should start by conducting Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir along with the Lok Sabha elections. But if they don’t believe what they are saying, then what can we say, betraying people is their old habit,” Abdullah said.
The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister was speaking to reporters after his arrival from Umrah in Saudi Arabia. He was accompanied on the pilgrimage by his father and National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah. The NC vice president said the leaders prayed for Jammu and Kashmir, especially for improvement in the situation.
“We prayed for decrease in the distress of the people. We also prayed for an end to the dry spell here. The God accepted our prayers and the cycle of rains and snow started,” he added. On the interim Budget, Abdullah said that in the run up to the elections, this was not a full Budget.
“A full Budget will be presented after the elections. We knew they will not impose any new taxes, and they have not. People will not cast their votes based on this Budget, they will decide on what has been done or not done in the last five years,” he said.