BJP fights political battles through courts: Omar Abdullah

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of preferring to fight political battles through courts rather than political means.
Mr. Abdullah was responding to a legal notice sent to him by the BJP, which had accused him of trying to lure its MLAs with money and ministerial berths into the National Conference. Mr. Omar said the notice was a matter of honour for him, adding that he had only received an electronic copy of the notice, which he described as a "love letter" from the BJP.
Speaking to journalists in Srinagar, he said, "I consider it a great honour because I am the only politician in Jammu and Kashmir to have received such a 'love letter' from the BJP. I consider it a matter of pride because it is clear that I am a political force that they cannot ignore."
The Chief Minister alleged that the BJP was trying to convert a political issue into a legal dispute instead of responding through public debate. Mr. Omar said, "I think this shows the BJP's way of fighting. They fight political battles and take shelter behind courts. I could have also taken shelter behind the assembly and made statements that could not have been challenged outside the assembly, but I did not do so. I made my statement on the political stage, hoping that the BJP would respond politically."
He said instead, the BJP had chosen the legal path. He said, "They have decided not to do so. They have told us that political battles do not mean anything to them. They would prefer to settle scores in court." Mr. Omar said the National Conference would now start sending legal notices to BJP leaders, as they had made defamatory allegations against the party and its leadership.
He said, "Over the past few months, senior BJP leaders in the state have made several defamatory allegations against the National Conference and its leadership. One leader in particular has repeatedly made baseless and defamatory allegations against us, and which we have been responding to politically. Now we will start the process of sending legal notices to this particular BJP leader and a few others. Let's see where this process goes."
Earlier, the BJP had sent a legal notice to the Chief Minister, demanding that he withdraw his alleged statements in which the party was accused of trying to break the National Conference by luring its MLAs with money and ministerial berths. The notice had demanded an unconditional public apology within seven days, warning that failure to do so would result in civil and criminal action, including a defamation suit of Rs 100 crore.