Won't ally with BJP for restoration of statehood to J&K: CM Abdullah

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday asserted he will not ally with the BJP to hasten the restoration of statehood to the Union territory, saying his party has no intention of repeating the "mistakes" committed by others in the past.

The chief minister said if the restoration of statehood is dependent on the BJP coming to power in J-K, then the national party should be honest in saying so.

"If that is the deal that is to be struck with the people, then the BJP should be honest, because the BJP in its manifesto and its promises to Parliament and to the Supreme Court never said that the statehood is dependent on the BJP coming to power in J-K.

"If that is the case, then I think the BJP should be honest, they should tell us that so long as there is a non-BJP government in J-K, you will not get statehood. Then we will decide what we want to do," he said.

However, Abdullah added that "tying up with the BJP or an alliance with the BJP is out of the question".

"No," Abdullah said at a press conference when asked whether his party would ally with the BJP for the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. He said J-K is "still suffering the after-effects" of the PDP-BJP alliance in 2015.

"We have already seen how much that has destroyed J-K. An unnecessary alliance between the PDP and the BJP was born in 2015. We are still suffering the after-effects of that. I have no intention of repeating mistakes that other people have made," the CM added.