Bhartiya Janata Party on Friday alleged that National Conference President, Dr Farooq Abdullah, was using words like Azadi with an aim to garner votes in the upcoming polls.
“True to his nature Dr Farooq Abdullah has once again changed colours with the onset of summer in Kashmir, as he is reputed for changing colours like the seasons in Kashmir,” BJP spokesperson, Brig Anil Gupta said in a statement.
“People in Kashmir are intoxicated by Azadi”, Farooq had said while speaking in a seminar organised by Central University Kashmir in Srinagar.
Gupta said that not very long ago, Farooq had said, “talk of an independent Kashmir was wrong as the Valley is landlocked and surrounded by three nuclear powers — China, Pakistan and India.”
He said that admonishing Farooq, separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Gilani had said, “These power-hungry politicians always played deceit. These irresponsible and short-sighted people have always served the interests of their masters. They are barefaced, follow their treacherous politics and are never ashamed of their absurd statements.”
Gupta said that Gilani had also advised Farooq to revisit annals of history and claimed that the former was speaking against the wishes and aspirations of the people. “It appears that Farooq has taken the advice of Gilani very seriously and forgotten his convictions of the past when he portrayed himself as a true Indian and nationalist leader,” Gupta said.
“NC patron must remember that he had written in his book ‘My Dismissal-Farooq Abdullah’ published in 1985, ‘For us accession of J&K to India is complete, final and irrevocable. We will not allow this to be reopened in any case.”
Gupta asked that has Dr Farooq “forgotten this or he is again resorting to opportunistic politics to plunge the Valley into a fresh turmoil this summer, so that any hope a common Kashmiri had of a peaceful summer, that would enable him to learn a livelihood with dignity, is dashed to the ground.”
Condemning the statement, Gupta said that it amply proves that as far as NC-Congress combine is concerned, “there is no real dividing line between the so-called ‘mainstream’ and so-called ‘secessionist’ politics.”
“These two parties in the valley have mastered the art of playing with people’s emotions closer to elections. They did so at the time of Srinagar Parliamentary by-election, which Farooq won as the alliance candidate. Now they have begun to prepare the ground for 2019 elections with open support to stone-pelters and terrorists,” he added.
“In 1986, Farooq came out with the idea of Greater Autonomy, which was dumped by the then NDA government in the dustbin but his son continued to be a member of the same government. Farooq himself did not consider it appropriate to resign as the Chief Minister despite the humiliation but today he is blaming the present CM for not leaving the government for love of power,” Gupta said.
“Farooq should not belittle the intellect of the common masses.”
Reacting to Farooq’s accusation against BJP for communalising politics, Gupta saidDr Farooq should know that those “who live in glass houses do not throw stones at others”.
