"I Consider This a Great Honour," Abdullah on Defamation Notice From BJP

The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party served a legal notice to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on July 13, 2026. The notice threatens a Rs 100 crore defamation suit over his recent claims regarding MLA poaching.

The legal notice demands an unconditional public apology within seven days and a retraction of the poaching allegations in writing. It also calls on him to refrain from publishing or circulating any further defamatory material concerning the BJP and to immediately cease and desist from making or repeating any such statements.

Addressing reporters at the National Conference (NC) headquarters in Srinagar on Monday, Abdullah mocked the notice as a sign of his political relevance.

"I have received a letter from a lawyer, an electronic copy. I consider this a great honour as I am the only politician in Jammu and Kashmir to have been bestowed with a love letter like this by the BJP. I consider it a mark of respect that I am obviously a political force in Jammu and Kashmir that they cannot ignore," he told reporters.

Details of Poaching Allegations

Abdullah publicly detailed the bribery allegations on July 11, 2026 while addressing an NC workers' convention at Hazratbal in Srinagar.

A senior BJP functionary and Supreme Court lawyer met an unnamed NC MLA from the Jammu region behind closed doors, Abdullah alleged.

The functionary and lawyer reportedly offered the MLA a bribe of Rs 20 crore to Rs 30 crore to defect. The offer allegedly included a ministerial berth and the restoration of J&K's statehood, several media outlets reported.

Abdullah Hits Back

The chief minister criticised the opposition's decision to use the judiciary for political disputes.

"It is symbolic of the way the BJP fights. They take political fights and hide behind the courts," Abdullah said.

He said he could have made the statements inside the Assembly to claim legislative privilege. "I could have taken advantage of the privileges afforded to me by making the statements in the Assembly which cannot be challenged outside the assembly, but I did not," he added.

Abdullah announced plans to begin sending legal notices to a specific BJP leader and others who have made slanderous accusations against the NC over the past few months.

"Particularly, one leader has time and again levelled unfounded and slanderous allegations against us, but we have been fighting him politically. Going on now, we will begin the process of sending legal notices to that particular BJP leader and a few others and let's see where this process ends," he said.

State of the J&K Legislative Assembly

The J&K Legislative Assembly currently consists of 90 filled, directly elected seats. This configuration follows the November 2025 bye-lections where the BJP retained the Nagrota seat and the PDP won the Budgam seat, previously vacated by Abdullah.

The party-wise strength stands at 41 for the JKNC and 29 for the BJP. Independent candidates hold seven seats, the INC holds six and the PDP holds four while the JKPC, CPI(M) and AAP possess one seat each.