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National Conference leader Omar Abdullah has promised to repeal the Public Safety Act (PSA) if his party comes to power in the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections. He stated, “We are fighting this battle together with the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and that’s why we formed an alliance with the Congress recently. Although this alliance was not easy for us, we have seen very difficult times. Youth were harassed and detained without reason, and the PSA was misused indiscriminately. We have promised in our manifesto that if our government comes to power, we will remove the PSA law from Jammu and Kashmir. We have seen nothing but strictness and oppression in the last 5-6 years.”
The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections will be held in three phases, with the first phase voting on September 18, the second phase on September 25, and the third phase on October 1. The counting of votes will take place on October 4.
After a marathon meeting between the National Conference and Congress, an agreement was reached to contest 83 seats together, with the National Conference fielding candidates on 51 seats and the Congress on 32 seats. Friendly contests will be held on five seats where an agreement could not be reached. Meanwhile, one seat each has been given to the CPI(M) and the Panthers Party.’