Srinagar: National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday accused the administration led by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha of orchestrating threats to Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley to continue depriving Jammu and Kashmir of its statehood.
“Who is issuing the threats? Kashmiri Pandits hardly reside here now. All the top officers posted here are Hindus from outside. The DG, DIGs, SSPs are all Hindus, right? The deputy commissioners are also Hindus. Why aren’t they receiving threats? The question is: if Hindus are being threatened, why aren’t they (senior officers) facing threats?” Abdullah told reporters in Anantnag.
The three-time former chief minister claimed the “threats” were a conspiracy to deny statehood to J&K.
“This is a conspiracy with the sole objective of denying statehood to J&K. An atmosphere of fear is being created. They (Central government) travel all over the world saying ‘peace has returned here’, ‘we have wiped out militancy’. So, where is this threat coming from,” the veteran politician asked.
Abdullah said Lieutenant Governor Sinha – who controls security in J&K – must answer, and blamed his administration for orchestrating the “threats”.
“Why is he not answering? Ask him where these threats are coming from. I am accusing the administration of issuing these threats. They are responsible…,” he said.
To a question on the National Conference protest in Srinagar earlier in the day, Abdullah said “J&K is going through a difficult phase”.
“The Centre is not fulfilling the promises it made to us. It said that delimitation would take place, followed by elections and then statehood would be restored. But that didn’t happen.
“Our MPs met Home Minister Amit Shah, who promised them that Business Rules would be approved within days. That was in January. It is September now. What happened to that promise?” he asked.
Without naming the PDP, Abdullah said the party that “helped” the BJP revoke Article 370 is trying to befool the people.
“Our enemies are sitting right among us – those who disrupted the entire map of J&K, got (Article) 370 revoked, got (Article) 35A revoked. Today, they talk about statehood and Article 370. But they were the ones who dismantled it. They were the ones who sat with the BJP. And now they are fooling the people.
“Then there are other leaders who are their cronies. Those who revoked 370 are now asking to bring it back. I want to ask them, don’t you fear god? Your motive is something else, and you say something completely different. Do you think we are fools?” Abdullah said.
He also claimed the protest on Wednesday showed the Centre that the NC will not bow down.
“If you think you will suppress us, we are not the ones to be suppressed. We have a manifesto, and we stand by it. Whatever good we can do for the people, we are doing it even under these difficult circumstances. The Centre should understand that we will not bow down,” he said.
Asked if he wants to make an appeal to Narendra Modi, Abdullah said there is no need, as the prime minister already knows what the people of Jammu and Kashmir want.
“It (restoring statehood) is his promise. He had said that ‘it is Modi’s promise’, that ‘I will restore statehood’. So why do I need to appeal?” the NC chief said.
