UPA govt to last full term, LS polls in 2014: Omar Abdullah

Srinagar: The UPA government at the Centre will last its full term and Lok Sabha elections will be held as per schedule in 2014, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday said. "I am of the belief that parliamentary elections will not be held before 2014," he told reporters on the sidelines of a function at Zewan on the outskirts of the city even as he rejected suggestions that the corruption allegations levelled by Arvind Kejriwal will affect the government.

Omar also said it was for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi to take a decision on his joining the UPA government. "This is for the Prime Minister and Rahul Gandhi to decide whether he wants to join the government or not. The Prime Minister has already said that he wants Rahul Gandhi to join the government," he said in reponse to a question.

Asked if the time was right for Gandhi to join the government against which allegations of corruption have been leveled by Kejriwal, the Chief Minister said, "It has got nothing to do with Kejriwal and others." To another question, Omar said, "Some people want to launch a new political party and to bring it to the notice of the public, they are using different tactics. It would not have any effect on the government."

Omar also said it was for the Prime Minister and Rahul Gandhi to take a decision on his joining the UPA government.

Omar, however, did not discount the possibility of the allegations impacting the outcome of elections but said the extent will be known only after the polls. The allegations "will affect the elections but how much do these...will be known only after the polls," he said.

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