Srinagar, Jul 18 (KNO): Two former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir – Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti – on Tuesday stressed the need for unity with the latter alleging that the country’s Constitution, democracy and diversity are being crushed.
Both political leaders from J&K attended the mega-unity gathering of the opposition in Karnataka’s Bengaluru. Speaking to the media there on the second day of the two-day mega event, Omar Abdullah, according to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said, “It is important to take a united stand against everything that is going wrong in this country and all sensible parties should come together and unite.”
“This meeting is a continuation of the process that we started in Patna a few weeks ago. I think it is important that we take a united stand against everything that is going wrong in this country, particularly the way in which the Constitution is being eroded, and the way the secular fabric of this country is being undermined. So, all sensible parties need to come together and unite in opposition to this,” he said.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti also alleged, “The diversity, Constitution, and democracy are being crushed. All parties have to unite to save the ‘idea of India’.”
“The Constitution, democracy and diversity, which are the strengths of ‘Gandhi’s India’ is being crushed, that is why all political parties have to unite to save the idea of India,” she said.
Both Omar and Mehbooba reached Bengaluru to attend the second round of the high-profile opposition meeting on Monday, June 17.
According to political observers, it would be interesting to see whether there would be an electoral arrangement between National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Jammu & Kashmir.
The leaders of at least 26 opposition parties attended the meeting to formulate a front for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The Bengaluru meeting comes less than a month after the first such high-profile meeting that was held in Bihar’s Patna.
The opposition unity meeting is aimed at deciding their strategy to take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections—(KNO)