Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday took a swipe at the BJP for suggesting a Padma award for CEC Gyanesh Kumar, saying he should be rewarded with a Bharat Ratna for delivering West Bengal to the party.
“It is not without reason that all opposition parties are against the Election Commission today. “Padma Bhushan? Why stop there? Give him the Bharat Ratna! One or two years left for the presidential election? Make him the President! Now that he has done so much for the BJP. Gifted West Bengal to the BJP.
Asked about the 2029 assembly elections in the Union Territory, Abdullah said, “2029 is very far away. Let us get through 2026, 27, 28 first, then we’ll talk about 29.
Now, talking about Padma Bhushan, I feel it’s a huge injustice to him,” Abdullah told reporters on the sidelines of a buyer-seller meet here. The chief minister said the Election Commission of India (ECI) should do some soul-searching as the charges against the poll panel were not levelled by any political party. The evidence was not brought forward by any political party; the evidence has emerged through a newspaper investigation,” he said. In response to a question, he said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is not wrong about the improvement in India’s relations with China.
