Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday (September 29, 2026) took a swipe at the BJP for suggesting a Padma award for CEC Gyanesh Kumar, saying he should be rewarded with a Bharat Ratna for delivering West Bengal to the party.

"Padma Bhushan? Why stop there? Give him the Bharat Ratna! One or two years left for the presidential election? Make him the President! Now that he has done so much for the BJP. Gifted West Bengal to the BJP. Now, talking about Padma Bhushan, I feel it's a huge injustice to him," Mr. Abdullah told reporters on the sidelines of a buyer-seller meet in Srinagar.

The Chief Minister said the Election Commission of India (ECI) should do some soul-searching as the charges against the poll panel were not levelled by any political party.

"It is not without reason that all Opposition parties are against the Election Commission today. The evidence was not brought forward by any political party; the evidence has emerged through a newspaper investigation," he said.

He added that rather than covering this up, the poll body should improve its functioning and ensure that these kinds of allegations and actions do not take place.

Asked about the 2029 Assembly elections in the Union Territory, Mr. Abdullah said, "2029 is very far away. Let us get through 2026, 27, 28 first, then we'll talk about 29."

In response to a question, he said External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is not wrong about the improvement in India's relations with China.

"Jaishankar Sahab is not wrong. Where were the relations after Galwan? They weren't visible at all. People were being told to throw Chinese TVs from their home balconies. Today, at least we are not only meeting each other, but we are also having decent dialogues. And that's how it should be," he said.

Abdullah said his party has always supported better relations with the neighbours and other nations, as it is better for the country.

Highlighting the benefits of having good relations with any country, he said, "There are many other nations in our neighbourhood with whom our relations are not very good. Look at Bangladesh."

Without naming them, he added that there are "other countries too."