Srinagar, June 13 -- BJP General Secretary Ashok Koul on Friday said that Omar Abdullah is the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and holds equal powers, rejecting Abdullah's recent remarks that he functions as a "Union Territory CM" without authority.

Koul said that no one has curtailed the chief minister's powers and that Abdullah continues to have full administrative authority. "He is our chief minister. He has equal power. No one's power has been cut," Koul said, addressing media questions in Srinagar.

Responding to Omar Abdullah's claim that he was being prevented from working effectively, Koul said that such statements indicate an unwillingness to work. "Saying that you are not being allowed to work means you don't want to work,"...