Sringar, Dec 12: Former Jammu &Kashmir chief minister and National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday stoked a controversy as he reacted sharply to Supreme Court’s verdict upholding Centre’s decision to abrogate provisions of Article 370.
“Let Jammu and Kashmir go to hell. They betrayed people. They want to win people’s hearts. How’d you do that if you’d do such things to push people farther away?” Farooq Abdullah said.However, as the controversy started playing out, Abdullah clarified by posing questions to theBJP and accusing the party of turning heaven on earth into hell.
The National Conference leader, in his clarification, accused the BJP of turning the erstwhile state “into hell” by downgrading it to a Union territory and listed other issues like bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir and not holding elections for the last four years.
“I have not set Kashmir on fire. Jammu and Kashmir was heaven. Who turned it into hell? Have we been able to win the hearts? If elections can be held anywhere in the country, then why not in Kashmir?” Abdullah asked.He accused a section of the media of promoting hatred in the country and advised that media should be used to win hearts. “We have a lot of enemies and at this time such spread of hatred will only weaken us,” he said.
Abdullah also questioned the delay in holding elections. “Nothing is being done for ‘heaven’. Tell me what is being done for heaven? Elections are taking place everywhere. What is our fault that it is not being held here? Which other state was turned into a UT? Didn’t you make it hell? You say terrorism has been eliminated, but is that the case? You (Central Government) are not winning our hearts,” the former J&K CM added.
The Supreme Court has set September 2024 deadline for holding elections in J&K. Farooq Abdullah came out in defence of Jawahar Lal Nehru, who the BJP blamed for decades of violence and instability in Jammu and Kashmir and the special constitutional privileges for the erstwhile state under Article 370.
The former Jammu and Kashmir CM claimed the then Union home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and saffron ideologue and Bhartiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mukherjee were involved in the process of according special constitutional privileges to the erstwhile state.
“I don’t know why they (BJP) have so much venom against (Pandit Jawaharlal) Nehru. Nehru is not the one responsible (for providing special status to J-K under Article 370). When this article (370) was brought, Sardar Patel was here (in Parliament) and Pandit Nehru was in America. When the cabinet meeting (on the imposition of the special constitutional provision) took place, Syama Prasad Mukherjee was also party to it.
It was at this meeting that the decision was taken,” the NC stalwart said.
