Omar Abdullah Asks Mehbooba Mufti To Apologise For Remarks On Use Of Force In Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday accused PDP president Mehbooba Mufti of undermining the fight for Kashmiris' rights by appearing to justify the use of force in the Valley during a protest in Delhi, and said she should apologise for her remarks rather than defend them.

The criticism follows Mufti's comments at a July 23 protest at Jantar Mantar over alleged examination irregularities, where she opposed police action against students in Delhi but said the situation in Kashmir was different because security forces were combating militancy. According to PTI, the remarks sparked criticism from rival parties, including Abdullah's National Conference (NC), while the PDP alleged that the ruling party had used artificial intelligence to distort her statement.

Speaking to reporters outside his private office, Abdullah said leaders who have held positions of power should be careful about the messages they send to the public.

"Irresponsible" statements made by people who have been in a position of power can act as a deterrent for ordinary people to fight for their rights, Abdullah said.

"When a former chief minister says use of force is justified in Kashmir for fighting militancy, who will come out to fight for their rights? It would have been better if she had not gone to Jantar Mantar," he said.

"When we (politicians) support oppression and use of force by the Centre, who will support us if people want to protest for the restoration of statehood? They will not come out because Mehbooba ji has said 'yeh to banta hai (this is acceptable)'," he added.

PTI reported that Abdullah also questioned why Mufti attended the students' protest but did not join the NC's demonstration at Jantar Mantar seeking the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood.

"She did not go to Jantar Mantar for Jammu and Kashmir. But she went there and justified the misuse of power and force on the pretext of fighting militancy.

"How does she justify it? Should the children not get justice because there is militancy? Should passports be stopped because there is militancy? Should laws not be implemented because there is militancy? I could not understand how it is justified," Abdullah said.

The chief minister further alleged that Mufti had a history of taking different positions in Delhi and in Kashmir.

"For a second, let us say that she was trying to please some people there. She has not forgotten the old habit of speaking different languages at different places," he said.

According to PTI, Abdullah said Mufti should apologise for her remarks instead of trying to defend them.

"She would not lose stature if she had called you (media) to her office and said she was carried away by emotions and she is sorry for it. Instead of apologising, they are rubbing salt on wounds. One of their MLAs is saying that it is AI. Are we fools?" he asked.

"Now you are challenging the wisdom of the people by saying that it is AI generated. What you said was unfortunate. At least accept it. You have not apologised for the 2015 accord with the BJP and you have not regretted the 2016 situation. Now you are saying it is par for the course," he said.

Referring to the mass detentions carried out after the killing of a policeman in Anantnag last week, Abdullah said the issue was that Mufti was justifying such actions in the name of fighting militancy.

"Our problem is that this is what Mehbooba Mufti is justifying. When responsible people ignore ground realities, such things happen. On one hand, we raise (our) voice against these detentions and on the other she goes to the centre of the country and justifies it," the CM said.

He added that there was no point in speaking against the arrests after returning to Kashmir.

"She should have spoken about it in Delhi as there was media from all over the country and all eyes were on Jantar Mantar. There she justified it," he said.

PTI reported that Abdullah reiterated his opposition to mass detentions, saying militancy could not be defeated without the support of local people.

"We might be able to control it to some extent, but we will need the support of people for covering that last mile. If we continue to bulldoze houses, arrest people and oppress people, they will not support us," he said.

"Imagine how many people are connected with these 2,500 detained people. We have alienated 15,000 people. How will we succeed in the fight against militancy?" he asked.

The chief minister also commented on the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as Union education minister, saying the credit belonged to students who continued their protests.

"Better late than never. If he had to resign, he should have resigned early. Why wait for so long? This was no one's victory. Success has many fathers while failure is an orphan. There will be many seeking credit for this, but it is only the students who deserve credit," he said.

(With inputs from PTI)