Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday distanced himself and the opposition INDIA bloc from the “vote chori” allegations being raised by the Congress, saying the issue was not part of the alliance’s collective agenda.

Abdullah’s comments came a day after senior Congress leaders targeted the BJP and election commissioners at a rally in Delhi, where they accused large-scale “vote chori” and accused the ruling party of trying to demolish the voting right of the people. The Congress leaders at the rally said electoral manipulation was embedded in the working of the BJP and sought the ouster of those responsible from power.

Reacting to queries on the controversy, Abdullah said the INDIA bloc had nothing to do with the issue being highlighted by the Congress. He said every political party within the alliance was at liberty to decide its own priorities and campaigns. “The INDIA bloc has got nothing to do with it. Every political party is at liberty to set its own agenda. The Congress has made vote chori and the special intensive revision of the voter list its main issues. Who are we to tell them otherwise?” he said.

The National Conference headed by Abdullah is a constituent of the INDIA bloc; the Congress continues to be the largest party in terms of opposition coalition strength in the Lok Sabha. However, Abdullah’s remarks suggested that the allegations being raised by the Congress were not a collective position of the alliance.

Congress has been aggressively campaigning on the issue of alleged electoral irregularities, accusing the ruling party of manipulating voter lists through the special intensive revision process. The party said it has collected around six crore signatures from citizens opposing what it describes as “vote theft” and plans to submit these signatures to President Droupadi Murmu.

Abdullah’s statement underlines the varying priorities of the opposition alliance, even as parties continue to come together over bigger political goals against the ruling BJP.