New Book Claims Farooq Abdullah 'Privately Backed Article 370', NC Chief Calls It 'Cheap Stunt'
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah dismissed claims by ex-R&AW chief A S Dulat that he had privately backed the abrogation of Article 370 and called it a cheap stunt. He also claimed that Dulat's motive behind penning the book -- 'The Chief Minister and the Spy', slated for release on April 18 -- could be an attempt to reach the power corridors or earn a lot of money.
Reacting to Dulat's assertion that the National Conference (NC) would have helped pass the proposal to abrogate the special status of the erstwhile state had it been taken into confidence, the 87-year-old president of the party said this was a figment of the author's imagination. The former Jammu-Kashmir CM said that he and his son Omar had been put under arrest for several months at the time of the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019.
We were detained because our stand against the abrogation of special status was well-known, he told PTI.
According to the report, the NC chief said that he had taken the initiative of bringing together all major political forces in Jammu and Kashmir and formed the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), a coalition of political parties to defend the special status of the state.
Abdullah also ridiculed Dulat's claim that the NC would have gotten a resolution passed in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly for the abrogation of Article 370. He further said that the claim in the book that the National Conference was planning to pass a resolution on the abrogation of the special status is merely a figment of the imagination of the author, who claims to be my friend.
Abdullah also added that even if the assembly had been in session, he would have never considered passing such a resolution. I was the one who had a two-thirds majority in the 1996 election.
The former CM referred to a specific error in Dulat's claim of advising him against having a large cabinet in 1996, saying he was sworn in with 25 ministers, not a small number as suggested. He dismissed Dulat's portrayal of their relationship, particularly the claim that he frequently heeded the top spy's advice.
Abdullah also denied Dulat's assertion that the NC wanted closer relations with the BJP. The veteran politician said he was unable to attend Parliament due to the sudden clampdown following the abrogation.
"I had to climb my (house's) wall to communicate to the press that I have been detained. My son was kept away and detained in Hari Nivas," Abdullah said.
india