Srinagar, Dec 20: The political parties in J&K have reacted sharply to Enforcement Directorate (ED) decision to attach property of former Chief Minister Dr Abdullah in Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) scam and termed it “political vendetta”.
The ED had yesterday attached assets worth Rs 11.86 crore of Dr Abdullah and others in connection with its money laundering probe linked to alleged financial irregularities in the JKCA.
Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter, Omar said in a series of tweets “The properties attached are largely ancestral dating from the 1970s with the most recent one built before 2003. There can be no justification for the seizures because they fail the very basic test of having been acquired as the proceeds of the “crime” being investigated”, he said.
“Abdullah is in touch with his lawyers & will fight all these baseless charges in the one place that matters – a court of law, where everyone is presumed to be innocent & is entitled to a fair trial unlike in the court of the media or the court of BJP managed social media,” he said.
Another former CM and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti tweeted, “ Attaching Dr Farooq sahab’s properties is sheer political vendetta as was evident from the abuses heaped on PAGD by BJP. People of J&K were least impressed & placed their faith in the alliance.Using agencies like NIA & ED to settle scores shows BJPs frustration”.
CPI( M) state secretary and PAGD convenor Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said attaching the property of Abdullah is part of vindictive politics practiced by the Central government to kill dissent and disagreement across the country and the present case has surfaced at a time when the DDC polls have just concluded.
“The BJP government must realise the dangers of witch-hunting and intimidation and desist from vindictive designs. It is time for secular democratic forces across the country to raise their voice against such designs of the BJP government,” he said.
In a joint statement NC leaders termed the attachment of Abdullah’s property by ED political vendetta, meant to settle political score.
“The sudden move against Farooq has been taken to divert attention from the ground that BJP seems to be losing in J&K,” the leaders said adding, “It’s not a coincidence that the BJP ordered this action on the day the DDC polls ended because they know how badly they have fared and are now extracting their revenge in advance of the drubbing they will receive at the hands of people of J&K.”
