"Lt Governor's Failure Took Us To Brink Of War": Omar Abdullah On Pahalgam
The gloves came off Monday morning after police manhandled Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to stop him from entering the Martyr's Graveyard in Srinagar to pay tribute to Kashmiri protesters killed by Maharaja Hari Singh's Dogra forces on July 13, 1931.
Visibly furious, Mr Abdullah spoke to NDTV shortly after videos of police almost assaulting his ministerial colleagues and him made headlines, and repeatedly ripped into the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, first attacking the "idiots" for a "foolish, short-sighted decision" that could cost it the next election, and then demanding fulfillment of its promise to restore J&K's statehood.
In the context of the latter point, NDTV asked Mr Abdullah if the Pahalgam terror attack was a setback, i.e., could it mean the federal government might delay statehood citing security concerns. A furious Chief Minister pointed out that Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, the centre's rep in J&K, had taken 'full responsibilty' for the intel failure leading to the attack.
"The LG's failure," Mr Abdullah told NDTV, "took us to the brink of war."
Mr Abdullah - who recorded a thumping win in last year's Assembly election, the first in a decade in the former state - also warned the BJP against underestimating the Kashmiri people, saying today's actions said the federal government does not care about the people of J&K.
"This is not about what happened to me... or my colleagues. This is about the wider message that you are sending to the people of Jammu and Kashmir - that their voice doesn't matter."
"You are going out of your way to tell the people of Jammu and Kashmir that they are 'powerless'... but they are not. Don't blame us for what happens," Mr Abdullah raged ominously, "If they had just let us go quietly to offer prayers... them this would have been a non-issue."
The all-out attack continued with stinging references to those killed in July 1931 protests.
"They were protesting against the British rule just like anyone else in the country at that time... but you treat them as 'villains'... you treat them differently because they are Muslim."
On J&K Statehood
He then switched tack and took on the BJP over its promise to restore statehood to J&K, which had been bifurcated and divided into two union territories - that of J&K and Ladakh - after the BJP-led centre scrapped Article 370, which gave the former state special status, in 2019.
Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have said statehood will be restored, but neither has provided timelines for that to happen. Mr Abdullah, after he was sworn in last year, said he would work towards restoration of statehood but called for a cooperative approach between the central government and his administration to achieve that end.
Now, however, it appears the Chief Minister is ready to force that issue. "J&K was promised statehood... and what was promised should be given. PM had said, 'this is Modi's promise'..."
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