Jammu & Kashmir CM accuses BJP of Rs20-30 crore bribe

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of attempting to destabilize his government by offering National Conference legislators large sums of money and promises of statehood to defect. He also intensified his demand for the central government to clarify a timeline for restoring Jammu and Kashmir's full statehood, warning that his administration's patience should not be mistaken for weakness.

Speaking at a party workers' convention at the Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar, Abdullah alleged that BJP operatives were actively trying to engineer a split in his party. He claimed a National Conference legislator from Jammu had informed him that a BJP functionary, who is also a Supreme Court lawyer, offered him between 20 and 30 crore rupees, a ministerial position, and the prospect of statehood if he switched sides. Abdullah asserted that such offers would be rejected, stating his party's lawmakers would not sell their integrity.

The chief minister linked these alleged attempts at defection to the broader political impasse over statehood. He criticized the central government's stance that statehood would be restored at an "appropriate...