There is no Modi wave in India: Omar Abdullah

Jammu – Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said Monday that there may be a Modi effect vis-a-vis the BJP but there was no Modi wave in the country.

Addressing the media here, Abdullah said the Modi effect would not enthuse the average voter but it may galvanize the Bharatiya Janata Party cadres.

He said the National Conference was a committed ally of of the Congress and remains firmly with the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) at the national level.

Answering questions about his statement that the relations between Jammu and Kashmir and New Delhi could be revisited on the pattern of Ireland and Scotland relations with the United Kingdom, Abdullah said everyone was giving his perception about a possible solution to the Kashmir problem and that his comment should be viewed in that perspective.

“The problem can only be resolved through dialogue and discussion.”

But he quickly added that Jammu and Kashmir was an integral part of the country and he had no doubt about this.

The chief minister also urged Pakistan to respect the bilateral ceasefire signed by the two countries in November 2003.

Abdullah said the situation appeared to have improved on the Jammu and Kashmir border in recent days.

“Infiltration (of militants from Pakistan) normally comes down during the winter months but we need to watch the situation closely,” he said.

The chief minister arrived Monday morning at the civil secretariat, which started functioning in the winter capital after a week-long recess in the summer capital Srinagar.

Following an over 150-year tradition set up by the Dogra Maharaja, the civil secretariat, which houses the offices of the chief minister, his ministers and senior bureaucrats of the state, functions for six months from Srinagar and for six months from Jammu city.

Abdullah was presented a guard of honour by a police contingent at the secretariat.