Srinagar, June 17: Senior J&K BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly’s Sunil Sharma on Wednesday termed ruling NC’s proposed protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar over restoration of statehood as an "eyewash", saying that the Omar Abdullah government was trying to divert people’s attention from its ‘zero-governance’.
"It is a mere eyewash," Sharma told reporters here when asked about the NC protest.
The NC has announced a sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar on the first day of the monsoon session of Parliament to demand restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
"People are demanding electricity, but I have not seen any review meetings taking place. There is a lack of clean drinking water, but this government is not making clean and safe drinking water available to the people,” LoP said.
"There is rampant corruption, and it is impossible to get work done without it. The situation created by these six (council of) ministers is one of corruption only, with no governance. There is zero-governance, zero-performance, on the ground," he said.
The LoP said that, unlike other states, where the chief ministers meet people and conduct public outreach programmes, "the CM (Omar Abdullah) here only meets his own party legislators".
"He (Omar) should meet people, hold a review meeting, interact with officers, take information, and meet the people on the ground. To divert the attention of the people from their lack of performance and worthlessness, they have come up with this Jantar Mantar programme, with which I have a huge problem," he said.
The LoP again claimed that Omar Abdullah-led NC government will not complete its term, asserting that the dispensation will “collapse on its own” due to internal contradictions.
“The ruling coalition is unstable and lacks cohesion. It will fall because of its own weaknesses. The BJP will neither topple it nor form an alternative government,” he said.
Taking a swipe at Chief Minister, BJP leader termed his recent statements “irresponsible” and advised him not to “talk like a child” but to act with the responsibility expected of his office.
Alleging that the recent NC legislators’ meeting at Dachigam was effectively a “floor test,” Sharma claimed it was driven by CM Omar’s “paranoia” about support within his party.
“The Abdullahs are power-hungry. They will compromise on full statehood as long as their protocol and privileges remain intact. Omar would settle for anything below UT status if there is no cut in protocol,” he said.
Sharma said the prime minister has transformed Jammu and Kashmir and rid it of violence and lawlessness.
"Before 2014, there used to be stone-pelting, and there was an atmosphere of fear. Today, schools and businesses are operating normally without any fear. Out of 365 days, there used to be hartals (strike) on 150-200 days. Today, there is no such thing," he said.
Referring to separatists, the BJP leader said that some people had "forcibly created an influence" in the name of separatism, calling for strikes, asking youth to pelt stones and take law and order into their hands.
"However, Modi restrained them and brought Kashmir at par with other parts of the country in terms of law and order," Sharma said.
He asserted that over the past 12 years, the Modi government has improved the situation and atmosphere in the region and added that there is no more fear among the people.
"The law and order problem prevailed in the rule of those who are today just parroting statehood. There was bloodshed and violence. Bullets and grenades used to fly from everywhere. Rahul Gandhi had stated that controlling terrorism was impossible. But see the situation today. The youth are roaming around happily. Now, there is no fear among the people," Sharma said.