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BJP threatens a ₹100-crore defamation suit after Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah alleges attempts to bribe NC MLAs.
July 13, 2026: The political confrontation between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah intensified on Monday after the BJP served him a legal notice over allegations that it attempted to bribe National Conference (NC) legislators. Abdullah had claimed that the BJP offered ₹20–30 crore and ministerial positions to at least one NC MLA in an alleged bid to topple his government. In response, the BJP demanded either proof of the allegations or a public apology, warning of a ₹100-crore defamation suit.
Reacting to the notice, Omar Abdullah described it as a “love letter” from the BJP and said he considered it an honour. Speaking at the NC headquarters, he accused the BJP of using courts to fight political battles instead of responding politically. Abdullah also said he had deliberately made the allegations outside the Assembly rather than invoking legislative privilege and hinted that legal notices would now be sent to certain BJP leaders over what he described as repeated defamatory remarks against his party.
The BJP’s legal notice called on the chief minister to withdraw his allegations, issue an unconditional public apology within seven days, and refrain from making similar statements in the future. Meanwhile, BJP ally and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Praful Patel rejected Abdullah’s claims, saying the BJP had respected democratic norms in Jammu and Kashmir and had not interfered with the formation of the NC-Congress government. He maintained that the BJP remains committed to democratic principles across the country.