Srinagar, July 27: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday launched a sharp attack on Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti over her remarks at Jantar Mantar, accusing her of attempting to appease certain sections outside Jammu and Kashmir and refusing to acknowledge what she had said despite widespread criticism.
Speaking to reporters, Omar Abdullah said Mehbooba Mufti had not gone to Jantar Mantar to speak for the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Instead, he alleged, her remarks justified and even advocated the use of force in the Kashmir Valley.
He said that while militancy remains a challenge, it cannot justify arbitrary actions against ordinary people.
“If there is militancy here, that does not mean there should be random arrests or that passports should be withheld,” Omar Abdullah said.
The Chief Minister criticized Mehbooba Mufti for what he described as her long-standing practice of adopting different positions in Kashmir and in New Delhi.
“She has not forgotten the habit of saying one thing here and another in Delhi,” he remarked.
Referring to the controversy surrounding the video of Mehbooba Mufti’s speech, Omar Abdullah said she would not have lost any political stature had she admitted her mistake and apologised publicly.
“Instead of apologising before the media, one of her MLAs claimed the video was AI-generated. Everyone saw that reel. She should have accepted that what she said was not correct,” he said.
Omar Abdullah further alleged that Mehbooba Mufti had rarely expressed remorse over controversial political decisions in the past. He referred to the PDP’s alliance with the BJP in 2015 as well as other controversial remarks associated with her political career, saying she had neither apologized nor expressed regret over those episodes. [KNT]
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