'Honoured' to receive BJP's Rs 100-crore 'love letter': Omar Abdullah

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday mocked a legal notice served on him by the BJP as a "love letter", saying it proved he was a political force the party could not ignore.

The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the BJP served the notice over Abdullah's allegations that the party had attempted to bribe National Conference (NC) legislators with cash and ministerial berths to topple his government.

The BJP has threatened to file a Rs 100-crore defamation suit if Abdullah fails to substantiate the allegations or issue a public apology.

"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," Abdullah told reporters at the NC headquarters in Srinagar.

"I consider it a mark of respect that I am obviously a political force in Jammu and Kashmir that they cannot ignore," he added.

Abdullah said he had expected the BJP to respond politically to what he described as a political statement, but the party had instead chosen to take the legal route.

"It is symbolic of the way the BJP fights. They take political fights and hide behind the courts," he said.

The chief minister said he could have made the same allegations inside the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly and invoked legislative privilege, shielding the remarks from challenges outside the House.

"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," he said.

Abdullah also accused BJP leaders in Jammu and Kashmir of repeatedly making "unfounded and slanderous allegations" against the NC and its leadership.

"Particularly, one leader has time and again levelled unfounded and slanderous allegations against us, but we have been fighting him politically," he said.

However, Abdullah indicated that the NC could now adopt a similar legal strategy.

"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," he said.

The BJP's legal notice alleges that Abdullah's claims amount to defamation under civil and criminal law and has demanded that he withdraw the allegations 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," the notice said.

The legal confrontation follows Abdullah's allegations that attempts were made to lure NC legislators with cash and ministerial positions in an effort to destabilise his government.