Jammu And Kashmir Administration 'Incompetent', Misled Four Times: Omar Abdullah On Gujarat Conman

The former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah described Gujarati conman enjoying Z-security while posing as a senior official from PMO in Jammu and Kashmir as an outcome of an unelected government imposed from above. He said the unelected government is satisfied to keep anyone who comes from Delhi happy, even if that is a “fraudster posing as a senior official of the Prime Minister’s Office.”

Calling for immediate elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Omar said the present government was “incompetent”, misled by the fake PMO official four times and hired a “blacklisted company” for employee recruitment.

He said the government has had no achievement after the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, and its officials are busy licking the boots of whosoever comes from Delhi with the hope of promotions and posting.

He said the government is not there to provide relief to people but to keep the PMO happy. “This is the difference between the elected government and the government imposed from above. The government that gets elected after being voted by people tries its best to keep people happy not PMO officials,” Omar said. “Now the reality is before you. They (the government) have no feelings for people. The government is satisfied if a PMO official leaves J&K happily even if he is a fake PMO official.”

“Show us any new factory; show us a new bridge, the foundation of which was not laid in our government. Nothing has happened in all these years. And whatever is there you (the government) are out to sell it. You (the government) have not given anything to the youth of Kashmir except pain and suffering,” the former Chief Minister said addressing people in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district.

While dismissing the BJP’s claim that it has started a new era of development in J&K after the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, Omar said after the abrogation of Article 370, they (the BJP government) promised that youths would be provided jobs.

“The fact is the government couldn’t even issue a recruitment list. One day, you (the government) issue a recruitment list and the very next day you issue another order and nullify the list,” Omar said, naming the various recruitment lists issued by the government including recruitment of the sub-inspectors, and financial assistants, which the government later cancelled.

“I will get tired to name those recruitment lists that this government issued after conducting exams and then cancelling them. What will happen to those youth who appeared in these exams?” Omar asked.

The National Conference vice president said the government when finally decided to go for the recruitment test, entrusted the job to a company which is “blacklisted” in the entire country. “You hired APTECH Company to conduct recruitment exams. Didn’t you check the company’s background? Didn’t you know that it is blacklisted in the country?.”

While pointing towards his party leaders, Omar said these leaders don’t get any security despite their requests and pleas. “Whenever they ask for an escort if they have to go anywhere, they are told by the police to postpone the visit as the police don’t have a vehicle and security personnel available. These leaders are the most vulnerable. They have suffered several attacks (from militants).”

“But when a fraud person comes from outside, you have a vehicle available and security too. A man came from Gujarat. Here he told them he is an official in the PMO office. Nobody asked him anything. No one even called the PMO to know who this man is. Let us assume you were misled once but what kind of incompetent government is this which is being taken for a ride not for once, not twice, not thrice but for four times? They gave him a bulletproof vehicle. They gave him escort vehicles. They gave him a room in a five-star hotel. Every day, he held meeting with officials. These officials who don’t pick up our phones today were licking boots of this fraud. They were asking him for recommendations in the PMO. He (conman) went to Gulmarg and inspected hotels there. He went to Uri on the Line of Control. He was made to tour border areas and also to inspect the border. Don’t know what secrets were shared with him. What kind of government this is,” Omar said.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police Friday issued a formal statement about the incident saying they arrested a man from Gujarat, Kiran Bhai Patel posing as a senior official of the Prime Minister’s Office in Srinagar on March 3 and the man is currently under police custody. The police said he was impersonating to be the Additional Director (Strategy and Campaigns), PMO, New Delhi.

Referring to former Director General of the Police S.P Vaid, who on March 17 evening through a series of tweets held a deputy commissioner responsible for “conman’s security” Z-security and escort, Omar said he has remained the Chief Minister of the State and knows it well that the Deputy Commissioner is no one to give security to anyone.

“The decision whether to provide security (to anyone) is taken at the Police Headquarters,” Omar said. The National Conference leader said the decision on whether any person should be given the government vehicle is taken at the secretariat. “Five-star hotel’s bill is not cleared by the DC. The Department of Finance does it after a nod from the Department of the Protocol. If this is not incompetence then what else it is,” Omar said. “This man was caught, we don’t know how many other such people are out there,” he added.

Calling for elections in J&K, Omar said the government has no excuse to delay polls. “I remember those days of 2014. The floods had devastated everything, houses, and bridges in Kashmir and people had nothing to eat. I pleaded with the BJP government to postpone the elections for a few months. I told them you impose Governor’s rule but hold elections after some time so that people get some relief.

That time they said elections should be held on time. And now they are not holding the polls in time. Now eight years have passed, now what excuses do you have,” Omar said, adding the government delimited constituencies according to its whims, later released voter lists and then gave the excuse of winter. “Now, the winter has also passed. But the elections are nowhere. Why? Because the BJP has fear of people and they cannot face people neither in Jammu nor in Kashmir,” Omar said.