Malegaon blast issue dominates polls in J-K

Srinagar/Jammu, Nov 21 : Malegaon blast issue is dominating polls in Jammu and Kashmir as some political parties vehemently use it for their electoral advantage.

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has targeted Omar Abdullah president of the National Conference (NC) alleging that he had gone to Haridwar to meet Malegaon blast-accused Swami Dayanand Pandey. The two political parties are among others locked in a bitter electoral battle in the state.

PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti said in Srinagar on Friday that the National Conference president should make public his links with Pandey whom she accused of killing Muslims.

"It is an open book. It is the same Omar Abdullah, Farooq Abdullah (former Chief Minister), Ghulam Nabi Azad (former Chief Minister), and General Sinha (former state Governor) who accused me of closeness to the militants because we used to talk about their rehabilitation, about initiating talks with them, but today he (Omar Abdullah) is openly with this man (Swami Daynand Pandey), who has killed so many Muslims...how could he even reach the doors of such a person," Mufti said.

The allegation comes two days after the PDP patron Mufti Muhammad Sayeed sought probe by the central and the state governments into the alleged links the former governor S.K. Sinha had with the Malegaon blast-accused Pandey.

Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in Maharashtra has so far arrested ten suspects including an army officer and sadhvi Pragya Singh in connection with the September 29 Malegaon blast case.

Whereas in Jammu, Vinay Katiyar, National General Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also raked up the Malegoan blast issue and alleged that the investigating agencies were torturing the accused. He demanded that the ATS should make public 'the series' of Narco tests conducted on Pragya Singh in connection with the blasts.

"In the Malegaon blasts, if these people (investigating agencies) have any proof, why don't they reveal it to the nation. When they did the narco-analysis test of Abu Salem, they revealed it to the entire nation. But now Sadhvi Prayga has gone through four rounds of the narco test, though the ATS says that only one test carried out in three different stages, the fact is that she was subjected to medicines three times for the test. The government should reveal the details to the people," said Katiyar.

Further heating up the election atmosphere, Katiyar urged the people of Jammu and Kashmir to vote out the separatists and the Congress party that he alleges supports the separatist forces.

"These Jammu and Kashmir elections are very important and an attempt should be made to uproot not only the separatists but those who favour these separatists. It is the time to give it back to them. There is no need to agitate or protest, all that the people need to do is vote. Vote against Congress and the separatists," added Katiyar.

The seven-phase polling in the state began on November 17 and will end on December 24 to replace the central rule imposed after a Congress party-led coalition government fell in July over Amarnath shrine land transfer row.

Separatists have called for boycott of polls, but the first phase on Monday saw a fairly large voter turnout.

ANI