Threat to INDIA bloc, some members may form separate alliance: Farooq

STATE TIMES NEWS

New Delhi: National Conference President Farooq Abdullah said there is a threat to the INDIA bloc if a consensus on seat sharing is not reached soon, asserting that some members may try to form a separate grouping.
In a discussion with former Union minister Kapil Sibal on his YouTube channel, the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister said very little time is left for the Lok Sabha elections.
When asked about the lack of clarity on seat-sharing arrangements in the INDIA alliance, Abdullah said, “If we have to save the country, we will have to forget differences and think about the country.”
“If seat-sharing arrangement is not finalised then there is a threat to the alliance. It should be done in a time-bound manner. It is possible some may come together to form a separate alliance, which I feel is the biggest danger. There is still time,” he said. Abdullah said parties should seek seats only where they are dominant and it was wrong to seek seats where they are not.
He said not only is democracy in danger, the future generation will also not forgive us.
“That challenge is before us. If we do not leave our ego aside to join hands to think how to save this country, I think that will be the biggest error on our part,” he said.
The NC chief said the alliance members recently met in a hotel in Delhi where it was agreed that not much time is left.
“We discussed that one such person should be there who can bring everybody on board by sidelining our differences. If we have to save the country, we will have to forget differences and think about the country,” he said.
Abdullah said last time TMC leader Mamata Banerjee was not ready to share seats with the Left but this time she offered that the Left can contest from where it can win. People issuing statements against her are widening the differences, he said. “Why are you seeking seats where you cannot win,” he said.
Sibal asked that “these people (BJP) take the name of Lord Ram but do not follow his ideals” to which Abdullah said “Ram Rajya means equality for all. We are also waiting for Ram Rajiya to come”. “Lord Ram was ‘vishwa ka Ram’ and I hope that Ram Rajya will come one day,” the NC chief said.