Srinagar, July 27 : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday launched a sharp attack on PDP president Mehbooba Mufti over her remarks at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, saying her comments appeared to justify the use of force in Kashmir and had caused deep hurt among the people of the Union Territory.
Mufti has come under intense political criticism after a video from Jantar Mantar, where she attended a protest over alleged examination irregularities, showed her saying that while the use of force against students in Delhi was wrong, the situation in Kashmir was different because of militancy.
Reacting to the controversy, Abdullah questioned why Mufti had attended the protest in the national capital in the first place.
“The people at Jantar Mantar themselves should answer why she went there. But what she said there was that the use of force, arrests and all these things in Kashmir are understandable because there is militancy here. I fail to understand how that can be justified,” Abdullah told reporters here.
He said the existence of militancy could not be used as a reason to deny justice or constitutional rights to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
“Does militancy mean that the law should not be enforced fairly? Does it mean children should not get justice? Does it mean people’s passports should be withheld? I do not understand how any of this becomes justified,” he said.
The chief minister alleged that Mufti had attempted to make “some people happy” in Delhi by making remarks different from the position she takes in Jammu and Kashmir.
“That old habit of saying one thing here and another in Delhi has not gone away,” Abdullah said.
He said Mufti should have admitted that her remarks were inappropriate and apologised instead of defending them.
“When people realise they have said something wrong and that it has hurt sentiments, they apologise. There is nothing wrong in saying, ‘I became emotional, I said something inappropriate, and I am sorry. Instead of apologising, more salt is being rubbed into the wounds,” Abdullah said.
He also dismissed claims made by a PDP legislator that the viral video was generated using artificial intelligence.
“One of their MLAs claimed it was AI. Are we so foolish? The entire national media was present there. Television cameras and microphones are clearly visible in the videos, and there is more than one recording,” he said.
Abdullah said attempts to dismiss the controversy as an AI-generated clip insulted the intelligence of the people.
Calling on Mufti to acknowledge her mistake, Abdullah also referred to previous controversies involving the PDP.
“You have not apologised for the 2015 alliance with the BJP. You never expressed regret over what happened in 2016. Again and again those actions were defended. Now once again, force in Kashmir is being justified,” he said.
The chief minister said such remarks from a former chief minister sent a damaging message to people seeking justice and democratic rights.
“When a former chief minister says that suppressing protests here is understandable, then who will come out to demand their rights in the future? If tomorrow we launch another movement for statehood, people will wonder whether force against them will again be described as justified,” Abdullah said.
“It is a matter of regret. It would have been better had she not gone to Jantar Mantar,” he added.(KNS).
