If Vajpayee was alive today, Jammu and Kashmir would not have become a Union Territory: CM Omar Abdullah

Srinagar. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said that if the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Center had adopted the vision of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Jammu and Kashmir would not have been in this situation. During the tribute meeting in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Abdullah praised the former Prime Minister and said that Vajpayee “always tried to improve the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.” The Chief Minister said that when Vajpayee ran the first Delhi-Lahore bus in 1999, When he went to Pakistan, he visited Minar-e-Pakistan which was 'not easy'.

House leader Abdullah said, “Then he stood on the border and said that we can change friends but not neighbours. Vajpayee had said that dialogue is the only way. He extended the hand of friendship again and again despite facing setbacks.'' Abdullah said, ''I know him (Vajpayee) and have worked with him as a minister in his council of ministers. When we remember Vajpayee, we remember him in the context of Jammu and Kashmir. He always tried to improve the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, he tried to reduce tension.

Abdullah said, “They worked to open the routes across the Line of Control (LoC) which were later closed again. He wanted to bring people closer. He tried to bring civil society closer. Today, efforts are being made to keep us apart.'' The Chief Minister said that if Vajpayee's approach had been adopted, Jammu and Kashmir ''would not have been in this condition''.

Paying tribute to former President Pranab Mukherjee, Abdullah said that there was a lot to learn from his life. He said, “Mukherjee did not have any 'godfather' and no one brought him into politics. He had worked hard.'' He said Mukherjee had done justice to all his posts. The House leader also paid tribute to former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and his former colleague and BJP leader Devendra Singh Rana, among others. Rana died last week.

About Rana, he said, “If there was any colleague I was sad to lose, it was Rana.” We had said bitter things during the electoral rivalry. But, I did not know that he was so ill. If I had known, I would have tried to improve our relations.'' The Chief Minister said that all the 56 people included in the list of deceased people prepared to pay tribute have done something or the other to serve the public.