Sajad Lone row: Omar Abdullah repairs fissures within National Conference

SRINAGAR: Former chief minister Omar Abdullah had to fly from New Delhi to repair the fissures within National Conference triggered by the party’s statement against Sajad Lone. Omar met party leaders, divided into two camps over the statement criticising Lone, at his residence on Tuesday afternoon and managed a reconciliation. Besides, the party stood by its statement issued against Lone.

According to sources, Omar reprimanded the party leaders for infighting and asked them to concentrate on strengthening the party at grassroot level. “There were some misunderstandings which have been clarified. There is no problem within the party,” NC general secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar told ET. Sagar immediately added that the party stands by its statement.

Last week, People’s Conference Chairman Sajad Lone, a minister in the BJP-PDP government, in an interview to ET claimed that RSS has right to be in Kashmir if people accept it. Lone had also stated that those who waive Pakistani flags should go there and help that country.

Subsequently Omar and Lone entered into a twitter spat. A day later, NC issues a scathing joint statement against Lone, attributed to senior leaders Chaudhary Mohammad Ramzan, Mir Saifullah, Md Shafi Uri, Md Akbar Lone, Qaiser Jamshed Lone, Kafil ur Rehman and Nasir Khan.

“First they sent our youth across the border and built their personal estates and vast empires and now Lone says those who wave Pakistani flags should go to Pakistan,” read the NC statement. However, in a major embarrassment for NC, the senior leaders distanced itself from the statement and went public in claiming they had no knowledge about it. Lone immediately hailed the NC leaders, for their distancing themselves from the NC’s statements.