'Should Not Be Mistaken For Friendship': Omar Abdullah On His Relationship With PM Modi

On the question of whether there is any possibility of Jammu and Kashmir getting its special autonomous status under Prime Minister Modi, Omar Abdullah said, "No. Simple as that."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah during a public meeting at Sonamarg.

Source : PTI

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said that the congenial relationship between the National Conference leader and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should not be mistaken for friendship or alliance.

The J&K CM said that the National Conference remains opposed to the BJP and said that his party will oppose the saffron camp on several issues, including the Waqf Bill, One Nation One Election, and the Uniform Civil Code.

Speaking on the question of Abdullah's relationship with the prime minister, seen especially during the inauguration of the Sonmarg tunnel, the CM said, "I think working in a congenial relationship is not something that should be mistaken for friendship or an alliance. The national conference is opposed to the BJP...We have been (against) things that the BJP is proposing to do in parliament in the forthcoming session with regard to the Common Civil Code or the Waqf Bill or One Nation One election."

Omar Abdullah made the remark during an interview with the BBC's Stephen Sackur. The interview comes on the anniversary of the deadly Pulwama attack in February 2019 where forty soldiers were killed.

Speaking on his party's demand for the restoration of Article 370, Omar Abdullah said that he hasn't given up, adding that if his government had given up, then the assembly wouldn't have passed a resolution in the assembly for the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.  

"I haven't given up...If we had given up, we wouldn't have passed a resolution in the assembly asking for the special status of Jammu and Kashmir to be restored and constitutional guarantees brought back as well," he said in the interview. 

"I think the BJP and the government at the center have done what they had to do with Jammu and Kashmir. Our job now is to try and claw back some of what was taken away from us and particularly to restore Jammu and Kashmir to its status as a state rather than a union territory," he added. 

On the question of whether there is any possibility of Jammu and Kashmir getting its special autonomous status under Prime Minister Modi, the CM said, "No. Simple as that."

The National Conference leader, while speaking on the rising case of terror incidents, said that the situation is a 'bit more peaceful' that the overall situation in the past five years.

"There hasn't been an alarming raise. There have been one or two incidents unfortunate as they were...But if you look at the overall situation in the last 5 years, I think last year would probably have been a bit more peaceful," the CM said.

Speaking on Pakistan, Abdullah said that he doesn't think that Islamabad would stop meddling in the affairs of Jammu and Kashmir.

"It would be foolish for any of us to suggest that what Jammu Kashmir has seen has been purely indigenous without any outside assistance whatsoever. That said, trying to get Pakistan to take on board some of Government of India's concerns so that we can establish a friendly working relationship is something the National conference has always talked about," he added.