'Nothing surprising': Mehbooba Mufti on Dulat's controversy

Srinagar, April 17: Former J&K Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president, Mehbooba Mufti said on Thursday that she is not surprised by the disclosure made by former R&AW Chief A. S. Dulat in his latest book about National Conference (NC) president, Farooq Abdullah “privately” supporting the abrogation of Article 370.

“Dulat’s revelations are nothing new for me. The father-son duo (Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah) went to meet them (Prime Minister, Narendra Modi) on August 3, 2019. Farooq Sahib did not even go to Parliament on August 5, 2019. He stayed back. So nothing is surprising for me,” said the former Chief Minister while addressing a PDP workers’ convention in Srinagar.

Article 370, granting special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, was abrogated by the Parliament on August 5, 2019.

Mehbooba also claimed that in 2014, Omar Abdullah met Amit Shah for government formation in Jammu and Kashmir. “He told Amit Shah not to form a government with the PDP, but to go with the NC and that too unconditionally,” she alleged.

Dulat’s book, titled ‘The Chief Minister and the Spy’, will be released on April 18.

Mehbooba also claimed that one of the cornerstones of PDP’s alliance with the BJP from 2015 to 2018 was that Article 370 would not be touched. “In those two years and 10 months, Article 370 remained untouched,” she claimed.

The PDP president also spoke about the Waqf (Amendment) Act and attacks on mosques and shrines, saying graves are being dug up on the pretext that these were remnants of the Mughal Empire.

“The signs of the Mughal Empire are the Taj Mahal, the Red Fort, the Qutub Minar and Fatehpur Sikri, which are flocked by millions of tourists every year. If you are looking for descendants of Mughals, they are not among Muslims. They are somewhere around you. Because Mughals were kings and they did not marry into ordinary Muslim households but into princely states whose descendants are sitting around you,” she said.

She said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi talks about the upliftment of downtrodden Muslims, but asked, is breaking down a madrassa in Madhya Pradesh or a 100-year-old mosque in Uttar Pradesh upliftment of Muslims?

The former Chief Minister said that Muslims in the country should fight against the Waqf (Amendment) Act peacefully. “I request my fellow Muslims in India to fight against it (Waqf Act) peacefully. What happened in Murshidabad was not good,” she said.

Farooq Abdullah has claimed that former R&AW chief Dulat has “lied” about the former ever having told him that he would ever support the abrogation of Article 370. “His book is a bundle of lies. It is full of inaccuracies and had he (Dulat) been a friend, he wouldn’t have written those lies,” the former Union Minister said.

Meanwhile, Peoples Conference (PC) president Sajad Gani Lone also said that there was no news in Dulat’s revelation because things were obvious right from the beginning. Sajad claimed that the NC was compensated for privately favouring the abrogation of Article 370 by allowing them to form a government in J&K.

Reader Comments

R

Rajesh K.

Politics in J&K has always been complicated, but these revelations just confirm what many of us suspected. The NC's double game is disappointing but not surprising. 🤷‍♂️

S

Sameera A.

As a Kashmiri, I'm tired of all these political games. Our identity is being used as bargaining chips while common people suffer. When will leaders think about actual development?

A

Amit P.

Respectfully, I think Mehbooba Mufti is diverting attention from her own party's alliance with BJP. PDP also compromised on many issues during their coalition. Glass houses and stones...

F

Fatima Z.

The Mughal Empire comments were unnecessary and factually incorrect. This kind of rhetoric only fuels division. We need leaders who unite, not divide communities. 😔

V

Vikram S.

Interesting how everyone's denying everything now! Dulat's book seems to have touched some raw nerves. Maybe we'll never know the complete truth about what really happened behind closed doors.

P

Priya M.

Regardless of political affiliations, the Waqf Act issue needs more attention. Historical sites should be preserved while respecting all communities. This shouldn't become another political football.

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.