"Muslims are being targeted...": Omar Abdullah in J-K's Bandipora

Omar Abdullah. File pic

Omar Abdullah, the vice president of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, stated on Friday that the Muslim population in the country is being targeted and questioned the idea that "Muslims have no right to participate in the development" of the country. Different narratives are being utilised to attack the Muslim community, according to Omar Abdullah.

Addressing an election rally in Bandipore, Omar Abdullah told ANI, "Muslims are being targeted. These days narrative is that if Muslims come, they will steal the jewellery of Hindus, if Muslims come, they will take the land of Hindus. The elections are between Modi and Rahul Gandhi and development and jihad. As, if Muslims know nothing apart from Jihad. Do we not want to participate in development?"

He went on to say that the Uniform Civil Code is being implemented by the BJP in an attempt to take away the Muslim community's right to marry.

"They want to snatch away our Sharia rights. We won't be allowed to marry someone through Nikah and will have to go to court. Ask BJP, how many Muslim candidates it has fielded in these Lok Sabha elections," Abdullah said. "How can we forget a worshiper is kicked while performing a Jumma prayer? Our girls when they wanted to go to school in Karnataka, they were allowed to enter in peace after taking off the hijab," he added.

Per the ANI report, following the repeal of Article 370, BJP leader Kavinder Gupta claimed earlier today that conditions in Jammu and Kashmir have altered. "Many people of different societies got their rights. In the coming days, assembly elections will be held in the state and hence Amit Shah directed the party workers regarding the preparations for that. He said that the BJP will contest all seats (in assembly elections) Lok Sabha elections are also going on, hence he is here, also to see security situations in the state," he said.

Notably, the BJP is not running for any of the three Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir - Baramulla, Anantnag, and Srinagar. The National Conference (NC) and the People's Democratic Party (PDP), two significant regional parties, continued to compete in the election. The BJP had six candidates in Jammu and Kashmir for the 2019 Lok Sabha election, but they were unable to secure any seats in the region.

Voting for the Udhampur and Jammu seats concluded on April 19 and 26, respectively, while in Srinagar, voting was done on May 13. The Baramulla seat will vote on May 20, while the Anantnag-Rajouri seat will vote on May 25.

(With Inputs from ANI)