Kashmir Impulse Desk

Srinagar, July 13

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday dismissed a legal notice issued by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over his allegations that the party had attempted to induce National Conference (NC) legislators to defect, saying the notice would not deter him from raising political issues.

The BJP earlier in the day demanded that Abdullah either produce evidence to support his allegations or issue an unconditional public apology within seven days, failing which it said it would initiate civil and criminal defamation proceedings, including a Rs 100 crore damages claim.

Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, Abdullah confirmed he had received an electronic copy of the notice but described it as a political response to his criticism of the BJP.

“I have received the notice. I see it as a matter of honour,” Abdullah said. “It shows that the BJP considers me politically significant.”

The chief minister had alleged during a National Conference meeting on July 11 that a Supreme Court lawyer associated with the BJP had approached some NC legislators from the Jammu region with offers of money, ministerial positions and restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood in return for joining the party.

The BJP has rejected the allegations as fabricated and defamatory.

Abdullah said he had deliberately made the allegations outside the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly rather than invoking legislative privilege, arguing that he wanted to raise what he described as a political issue in the public domain.

“I expected a political response. Instead, they have chosen legal proceedings,” he said.

The chief minister also accused some BJP leaders of repeatedly making what he described as baseless allegations against the National Conference, saying his party would now consider pursuing legal remedies in response.

“For months, BJP leaders have been making defamatory statements against us. We have responded politically so far, but we will now examine legal options as well,” he said.

The exchange marks the latest escalation in an increasingly acrimonious confrontation between the ruling National Conference-Congress coalition and the BJP, the principal opposition party in Jammu and Kashmir.

The dispute comes as the National Conference intensifies its campaign for the restoration of statehood, which was withdrawn in August 2019 when the federal government revoked the region’s special constitutional status and reorganised the former state into two federally administered territories.