Srinagar- National Conference leader Omar Abdullah has claimed that authorities in Union Territory of Ladakh tried to dissuade him from visiting Kargil.

“They told me not come here. There (Eastern Ladakh) China has come in, you could not stop them, you could not send them back. We are only going from Srinagar to Kargil via Drass. We were not here to occupy the town,” Mr Abdullah told a gathering of his supporters in Drass on Monday.

The National Conference leader alleged he was denied the permission to use a public address system and the Day Bungalow facility in Drass.

* Click to Follow Voice of Ladakh on WhatsApp *

“I have been a chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir for six years, but I fail to understand certain decisions made by them. At best, I would have only used the Dak Bungalow to freshen up,” he added.

Mr Abdullah said the government had no confidence in its own decisions.

“In August 2019, they separated you (Ladakh) from Jammu and Kashmir. If that was your heartfelt demand, why are they scared of allowing us in?” he asked.

Hitting out at the BJP-led government at the centre, he said they cannot sever the centuries-old ties between people of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh by drawing imaginary lines.

“Our relations are very strong, and these fake lines cannot weaken that. We can feel your pain, we know you are being ignored,” he said.