‘Why this approach after being CM?’: Congress hits back at Omar Abdullah’s remark on EVM | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: A day after J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah dismissed allegations of EVM tampering and raised ‘selective’ blaming of the voting method, the Congress and its ally seem to be at odds with each other.
The Congress on Monday denied Abdullah’s assertions, saying that it was the Samajwadi Party, NCP, and Shiv Sena (UBT) that raised concerns about EVMs, while the Congress only “addressed the ECI”.
Urging its ally in the INDIA bloc to “verify facts”, Congress leader Manickam Tagore questioned Omar Abdullah’s swipe, saying, “Why this approach to our partners after being CM?”

“It’s the Samajwadi Party, NCP, and Shiv Sena UBT that have spoken against EVMs. Please check your facts,” Tagore said on X .
“The Congress CWC resolution clearly addresses the ECI only. Why this approach to our partners after being CM?”, he added.
This response came after Omar Abdullah, who is a key ally in the INDIA bloc took a swipe at the Congress on issues ranging from its stance on voting method to its leadership of the opposition front. Speaking to news agency PTI, Abdullah urged the Congress not to resort to ‘selective’ EVM blaming when poll results don’t turn out favorably and called for consistency.
“When you get over a hundred members of Parliament using the same EVMs and celebrate that as a victory, you can’t then turn around and blame them when the results don’t go your way,” Abdullah said.
Further commenting on the simmering discord among alliance partners over leadership of the bloc, Abdullah urged the Congress to justify its leadership of the bloc. While acknowledging the Congress’s pan-India presence, he said “leadership must be earned.”
“There is a sense of disquiet among some of the allies because they feel the Congress is ‘not doing enough.’ That’s something the Congress might wish to consider,” he said.
Abdullah also criticised the bloc’s engagement strategy, saying that its activities cannot be limited to a few months before elections. “You can’t just come alive once Lok Sabha elections are announced and suddenly start talking and trying to work things out,” he said.
The tiff also comes at a time of brewing discontent among INDIA bloc partners over multiple issues. However, this is not the first time the National Conference party and Omar Abdullah have spoken out against the Congress.
During this year’s assembly elections, Abdullah criticised Congress for paying a lot of focus to Kashmir when the elections were about the party’s performance in Jammu. After the results, Abdullah urged the Congress to introspect on its lackluster performance just not in J & K but also in Haryana, where the Congress lost against the BJP.
In the 2024 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, the National Conference, led by Omar Abdullah, delivered a strong performance, securing 48 out of 95 seats, while the Congress managed to win just six seats.