Omar Abdullah lashes out at PM Modi for 'destroying' businesses in J&K

Omar Abdullah

Srinagar: National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah on Friday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly "destroying" the business of thousands of people across the state with his "deeds."

"How do you think the hotel and business across the state will flourish if the BJP's Governor just sits at the Raj Bhavan and orders an economic boycott? PM Modi destroyed the businesses in the states because of his own deeds," said Abdullah while addressing media personnel here.

"If Pm Modi had kept the things 'peaceful' after he came to power in 2014, the situation would have been a lot more different than it is right now," he said.

He also slammed BJP leader Arun Jaitley for his recent comments on the Article 35A, adding that the incumbent government is trying to create "misunderstanding" between the different communities in the state.

"Jammu and Kashmir is not the only state which has been accorded the special status. North-eastern states, Himachal Pradesh, Lakshadweep and Andaman, and Nicobar have also been accorded the same status," he said.

Reacting on the comment of Jaitley that "no investor is willing to set up an industry, hotel, private educational institutions, or private hospitals because of the imposition of 35A," he said: "Before militancy destroyed the roots of the states, there were no complaints. Guns and terrorism destroyed the business and not the Article 35A."

He also pointed that before 1989, Jammu and Kashmir was the "fastest growing state" with the "highest gross domestic product" (GDP) among all the states, pressing that militancy destroyed it.

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