BJP use Ram Mandir & other issues just to gain power: Omar Abdullah

Omar AbdullahBJP's three main manifesto promises, viz. common civil code, Ram Mandir, and article 370, are to deceive voters, Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Monday.

Omar Abdullah said that BJP was not serious about fulfilling any of the three controversial manifesto promises. He argued why BJP didn't pay any heed to fulfill the promises when it was in power.

He said BJP use the issues of common civil code, Ram Mandir and article 370, to gain power; stressing that it is not the first time that BJP is trying to gain power using the issues. He alleged that BJP would put all the issues in question on backburner once it arrives at the destination.

Criticizing BJP, Abdullah said, "The BJP has been in power in the past also. Please remind me what steps the BJP took to address these issues - common civil code, Ram Mandir, article 370? To come to power, the BJP uses these handles."

Referring to BJP general secretary Amit Shah's recent controversial comments, he said BJP wanted people to vote for the dictatorship of an individual, who is hell bent on taking revenge. He was speaking to press reporters on the sidelines of a National Conference (NC) election rally on Monday.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi also attacked BJP, saying its newly released manifesto proved that Narendra Modi-led party is a "threat" to India's integrity and unity.