Omar fires satire at BJP after ‘backdoor’ charge: ₹100-crore ‘love letter’ and a jibe featuring Donald Trump

After being handed a legal notice by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over his allegations that the Centre's ruling party was trying to bribe National Conference (NC) legislators with cash and ministerial portfolios, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah launched a fresh attack with a satirical fake post in the name of US President Donald Trump.In the fake post, Trump is shown to have given Abdullah a “shoutout” for his campaign for the restoration of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir.“If only!” Omar Abdullah wrote on X while sharing the screenshot, indicating that it was a fake one. Trump has not made any such post on any of his social media handles.In the fake post, Trump is shown to be saying: "Big things happening in Jammu & Kashmir! I have to give a BIG shoutout to my friend, Chief Minister @OmarAbdullah what a guy! He's working hard, talking smart, and fighting for Statehood like a lion roar... mostly). (without the Omar said "Statehood or bust!" - I love that! He's got style, vision, and even got the mountains cheering for him (I asked them, they nodded). Let's bring back Statehood and make J&K GREAT AGAIN! Believe me, nobody restores better than me... except maybe Omar in J&K!" The fabricated post deploys Trump's typical manner of speaking in superlatives, even riffing on his ‘Make America Great Again’ slogan. The political face-off between the BJP and Omar Abdullah intensified on Monday, fuelled by allegations that the saffron party attempted to bribe legislators of his party, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC). Abdullah claimed that the BJP “offered ₹20 -30 crore” to at least one NC MLA in an effort to topple his government, news agency PTI reported.BJP sends legal notice, Omar Abdullah says it is ‘love letter’The BJP's Jammu and Kashmir unit served a legal notice to CM Omar Abdullah over his bribery claim. The party demanded that Abdullah provide proof for the poaching claim, threatening a ₹100-crore defamation suit if he fails to do so or issue a public apology.Reacting to the development, Abdullah told reporters at the NC headquarters that he considers this “a great honour” and referred to the legal notice as a “love letter”. “I have 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,” CM Abdullah said.Also Read | ‘BJP respects democratic traditions’: NDA leaders defend against Omar Abdullah's ‘trying to break my party’ chargeAbdullah further stated that he expected a political response from the BJP, as he had made a political statement.“It is symbolic of the way the BJP fights. They take political fights and hide behind the courts,” he said.He further argued, “I could have made the same statement and hid 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.”Not naming anyone, he added, “Particularly, one leader has time and again levelled unfounded and slanderous allegations against us, but we have been fighting him politically. Going on now, we will begin the process of sending legal notices to that particular BJP leader and a few others and let's see where this process ends.”What legal notice to CM Abdullah saysThe legal notice asserts that the allegations amount to defamation under both civil and criminal law. It calls upon the CM to withdraw his charges in writing.“Issue an unconditional public apology within seven days of receiving the notice. Refrain from publishing or circulating any further defamatory material concerning the BJP. Immediately cease and desist from making or repeating any such statements,” it said, according to PTI.Also Read | 'Enough is enough': Omar Abdullah takes J&K statehood campaign to DelhiNDA ally's response to Omar's chargeEarlier on Sunday, BJP ally Nationalist Congress Party's (NCP) working president, Praful Patel, refuted claims by CM Omar Abdullah that the BJP attempted to lure one of the NC MLAs.“BJP fully respected democratic traditions; the National Conference was the single largest party in Jammu and Kashmir, and they had the support of the Congress party. No obstacles were placed in the way of that alliance forming a government there, and this is considered a healthy democratic practice,” Patel told reporters, according to news agency ANI.“Today, Congress and other parties run governments in many Indian states; any talk or suggestion of suppressing democracy in those places is wrong. The BJP always operates with faith in the democratic process,” he said.