Srinagar : National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah on Monday (July 20) threatened to take legal action Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel for linking his release from detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA) to rebel Congress leader Sachin Pilot and the ongoing political drama in Rajasthan.
It is to be noted that Sachin Pilot is married to Omar Abdullah’s sister Sara Abdullah.
On Monday, Chhattisgarh CM Baghel had said, “I have been tracking the Rajasthan events closely, but it does make anyone curious why Omar Abdullah was released? He and Mehbooba Muftiji were booked under the same sections of the law. While she is still languishing, he is out. Is it because Mr Abdullah is the brother-in-law of Sachin Pilot?”
Responding to Baghel’s allegation, Omar Abdullah tweeted “I am fed up of the downright malicious and false allegation that what Sachin Pilot is doing is somehow linked to my or my father’s release from detention earlier this year. Enough is enough. Mr Bhupesh Baghel will be hearing from my lawyers.”
The NC leader also tagged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the Congress media in-charge Randeep Surjewala in his tweet.
The National Conference in a detailed statement said, “Mr Baghel has maliciously suggested that the release of our vice-president Mr Omar Abdullah from preventive detention was somehow related to Mr Sachin Pilot or the present political situation unravelling in Rajasthan.”
“The Party [NC] unequivocally rejects such malicious, false and politically motivated statements that are used for convenient political posturing,” the statement added.
This statement further said “Apart from being false and scurrilous, the statement is defamatory to the reputation of Mr Omar Abdullah as well. It is within the province of public knowledge that the release of Mr Omar Abdullah happened after the judicial intervention was sought from the Supreme Court and the illegal order of detention of Mr Abdullah was challenged. Given the indefensible nature of the illegal detention order, the same was revoked by the government during the course of the proceedings before the Supreme Court.”
It may be recalled that Omar Abdullah was taken into preventive detention on August 5, hours before the Centre announced the abrogation of Article 370, which granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the state into union territories – Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir. Abdullah was later booked under the stringent Public Safety Act in February 2020. Notably, Omar Abdullah has preferred not to comment on the abrogation of Article 370 citing Covid situation.
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