Omar Abdullah hits out at Centre over allotment of IIT only to Jammu region

, July 12:

Chief Minister

on Saturday accused the Centre of "brazenly discriminating" against Kashmir by allotting IIT only to the Jammu region, and alleged that PDP was hand in gloves with the BJP by maintaining "criminal silence" over the matter.

Omar said the conspicuous silence maintained by PDP and its MPs over this "lopsided and discriminatory" decision of the BJP government proved the opposition party's "covert understanding" with BJP to divide the state on regional lines by engineering a rift between Kashmir and Jammu regions.

"One can safely assume that these tricks and tactics are being employed keeping an eye on the forthcoming Assembly polls in the state. They want to perpetuate regional polarisation in the state for mutual electoral interests as was done in Parliament elections," he said.

The Chief Minister said that it were the MPs of the NC who batted for Central universities in the state.

Omar: One can safely assume that these tricks and tactics are being employed

"Unlike the criminal attitude and negligence shown towards Kashmir by PDP and its MPs, it were Parliamentarians from National Conference who raised their voices both inside and outside the Parliament and got two Central universities for the state, one each for Kashmir and Jammu," Omar said at a party workers convention in Baramulla district.

Omar, who is also working president of the National Conference, said it was a matter of "absolute shame" for the leadership of PDP that its Parliamentarians had bartered the interests of the youth of the state for petty, short-term political benefits.

"This is only the beginning and PDP MPs have already started revealing their hidden agenda. Where is PDP's voice now?" Omar asked. In the maiden Union budget of the NDA government, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced setting up of an IIT in Jammu.

PTI