Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday called the legal notice sent by the BJP a "love letter" as he took a jibe at the party amid the ongoing controversy over his allegations of political poaching.
The BJP's J&K unit served a legal notice on Omar over his claim that the party was trying to bribe and poach MLAs to topple the NC government in the Union Territory.
Addressing a press conference here in Srinagar, Omar said, "I received a letter from a lawyer, an electronic copy. I consider this a great honour, as I am the only politician in Jammu and Kashmir to have been bestowed with a love letter like this by the BJP. I consider it a mark of respect that I am obviously a political force in Jammu and Kashmir that they cannot ignore."
He was responding to the BJP's demand earlier in the day that he either issues a public apology or produce evidence to support what the party described as baseless claims.
Omar said he knew what was about to happen after making the remarks and was prepared for it, but the BJP chose the legal route.
"It is symbolic of the way the BJP fights. They take political battles and hide behind the courts. I could have made the same statement and hidden behind the assembly. I could have taken advantage of the privileges afforded to me by making the statements in the Assembly which cannot be challenged outside the assembly, but I did not,” he said.
He slammed the BJP, describing its response as laughable, and said several slanderous accusations were made against the NC and its leadership.
In an indirect jibe at the party, Omar said, “The BJP are afraid of indulging in constructive and positive politics rather than hiding behind legal procedures since they have no response to the comments I made.”
He added, "We are also going to send a few legal notices to BJP leaders for making unfounded claims against our government. Then we will see where this all ends."
Also read: BJP threatens ₹100-cr suit against Omar over poaching claims
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