Nothing in budget for J&K: NC leader Omar Abdullah

Srinagar, Jul 24 (PTI) National Conference vice president and former chief minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday claimed that there is nothing in the Union Budget for Jammu and Kashmir, terming it as a “coalition bachao budget” with focus on Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.

Abdullah said he thinks this is the first time that “coalition compulsions” are visible in the third term of the BJP-led NDA government.

“If you look specifically at Jammu and Kashmir, there’s nothing in this budget. Considering the scale of problems that we face, we have amongst the highest levels of unemployment in the country; development wise, we have gone backwards.

“Investment was promised but we don’t see it on the ground anywhere. Today, people are screaming for water and electricity, so the sum total of our problems in Jammu and Kashmir has increased. The commitment from the government of India is absent,” he told PTI Videos in an interview here.

As far as holistic all India view is concerned, the NC leader said it has become very apparent that this is a coalition government and not a BJP government.

“We have not seen this for the last 10 years. For a while, we were wondering whether the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) would treat this as a coalition or he would still try to act as if it’s a single l-party government,” he said.

He further said that perhaps due to “coalition compulsions” the share that other states should have rightfully got has gone to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.

“The net result of that is chief ministers’ representing important states like Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and others will not be attending the NITI Aayog meeting that will be chaired by the prime minister,” he said.

Abdullah said it is very clear that the government is paying for the support of Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar’s parties and is being paid with “our tax money”.

“The legitimate share of other states is being denied to them so that two states can get money and the prime minister can continue to lead this coalition. It is nothing but a ‘coalition bachao budget’,” he said.

On Lt Governor Manoj Sinha’s remarks welcoming the budget, he said there is nothing in this budget for tourism and “I wonder how much in this budget is there for the poor”.

“I have all the sympathies for LG Manoj Sinha but he probably has not read the budget. He must have got ‘talking points’ from Delhi that ‘you have to say this or that’ and he crammed the entire thing. That’s how it is,” the former chief minister said, adding “you can ask LG what is there in the budget for J&K. He should take pains to explain it to us”.

Without identifying anyone, Abdullah said he saw a video of a central minister giving his reaction to the budget and “the poor chap could not even look up at the camera because he did not even know what his own ministry was getting in the budget”.

“He was just looking down and reading what he was getting. Same is the state of our LG,” the NC leader said.