Farooq: ‘Handiwork of people involved in fund scam’

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

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SRINAGAR, Jul 20: Former Chief Minister and National Conference patriarch Dr Farooq Abdullah rejected today’s election of the office-bearers of JKCA including his own replacement as President by the PDP leader and Minister incharge Youth Services and Sports Imran Raza Ansari.

“This is no election. It is completely illegal as we have still completed only one year of our three year term”, Dr Abdullah told a host of television news channels at his residence. He asserted that he would fight this “fraudulent election” legally as well as politically as, according to him, it was nothing but the PDP-led government’s vendetta against him. “But, let us be assured that Farooq Abdullah is not a fish that can be picked up and thrown out of the water. I will fight it out with all my strength”, he asserted.

Dr Abdullah claimed that the JKCA Working Committee had amended the constitution and enhanced the term of all office-bearers from one to three years. He pointed out that in 2011, office-bearers were elected for three years. Later, in 2014 again, the President and other office-bearers were duly elected for a term of three years. According to him, Mr Ansari was completely wrong in claiming that the term was specifically for one year.

Significantly, Dr Abdullah alleged that today’s government-sponsored coup in JKCA had been engineered “by the same people whose names figure and who have been found guilty in the funds embezzlement scam”. He said: “As soon as the investigation was completed and they were held guilty, they started the process of removing me as President. I have stopped releasing money to them because they have swindled funds. I have demanded accounts from them which they don’t submit”.

Dr Abdullah said that by virtue of the court order he would continue to operate as President of JKCA. Another NC leader reminded that in 2003, Mufti Sayeed’s government had similarly elected then Minister of Sports Haji Nisar Ali as President of JKCA. “That election was challenged in court. High Court declared it null and void and upheld the position of Dr Sahab as President. That fraudulent election was also rejected by BCCI”, he said and claimed that as per JKCA constitution only the General Secretary can call the Working Committee meeting on the direction of the President. “No other person can call such a meeting”, he asserted.

STATE TIMES made repeated attempts to learn from BCCI whether it recognised Dr Abdullah or Imran Ansari as the bonafide President of JKCA. BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmia’s phone was continuously switched off. He did not respond to a message recorded on his phone or an SMS. General Secretary Anurag Thakur was continuously not reachable.

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