President of Awami Ittehad Party and MP, Sheikh Abdul Rashid aka Engineer Rashid has claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi "consulted Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah before abrogating article 370 in 2019", adding that "the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) helped the National Conference regain power in the valley".
In a conversation with news agency ANI, Rashid claimed, "Omar Abdullah speaks of statehood, Article 370 and 35A. Omar Abdullah is running away from 370. When PM Modi abrogated Article 370, he met Farooq Abdullah three days before that. After the meeting, Farooq Abdullah said that nothing was going to be abrogated but it was abrogated and Farooq and Omar Abdullah were kept in a guest house. It seems as if Farooq and Omar Abdullah were on board."
Alleging that all of it was a "match-fixing", the MP continued, "PM Modi removed Article 370 after consulting with them. All of it was a match-fixing. There is no doubt that the BJP helped NC in coming to power".
On August 5, 2019, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) abrogated article 370, effectively ending the special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir valley.
Who is Engineer Rashid?
Abdul Rashid Sheikh, famous as Engineer Rashid, is a former two-time MLA from Langate seat in Kashmir. Rashid, 57, garnered spotlight as he defeated NC Vice-President Omar Abdullah from the Baramulla seat in the Lok Sabha Polls 2024.
His victory shocked everyone as he contested the polls from Tihar jail, where he had been imprisoned for the last five years facing charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Contesting as an independent candidate, he was not allowed to campaign during the polls.
Meanwhile, he is currently on a bail in connection with a 2017 terror funding case.
Omar Abdullah takes oath as Chief Minister of J-K
National Conference Vice-President Omar Abdullah, earlier today, took oath as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, after registering a huge victory in the recently concluded assembly polls.
The NC secured an impressive 42 of the 90 seats for which elections were held in three phases with the alliance partner Congress bagging six seats.
