India, July 12 -- The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday demanded that Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah either substantiate his allegations that the party was trying to buy National Conference (NC) MLAs or apologise. The claims were "highly irresponsible and baseless," the BJP said.

The BJP's response came after Abdullah accused the party of trying to bring down the NC-led government in Jammu and Kashmir by offering cash, ministerial posts and a promise of statehood to his party's legislators.

Addressing a workers' convention at Hazratbal in Srinagar on Saturday, Abdullah alleged that an NC MLA from the Jammu region told him he had been offered between Rs.20 crore and Rs.30 crore, a ministerial berth and restoration ...